Burning Ground
by Varmint
Summary: Tobirama is a forty six year old lawyer that has never been married and has never had an interest in life other than protecting those he loves. Kiba is a sixteen year old teenager from a troubled home that is caught between wanting to make something out of his life and staying loyal to his family. Over the years of heartbreak, these two find love. Tobirama/Kiba! You're welcome!
1. Chapter 1

As promised, yet another Tobirama/Kiba story!

Warning(s): So Kiba's sixteen. Tobirama is forty six. It doesn't really take a genius to see that there's something off about that. But this is just the nature of the Tobirama/Kiba relationship. Tobirama's old, Kiba's young, and they happen to be perfect for each other. There's also implied domestic abuse, cheating, and gang affiliations.

* * *

When Tobirama first met the teen, he did not think much about him. He was just another teenager that had moved into his neighborhood because of the recent district changes made to the nearby high school. There had been at least five more teenagers that had moved into nearby houses because of it; Kiba was no different.

"'Sup? The name's Inuzuka Kiba and ma forced me to go ahead and warn all the new neighbors about our dogs."

There hadn't been anything particularly eloquent about the teen either. He came from a rough upbringing with a single mother and a sister that had only just managed to straighten herself out. And it wasn't as if he gave a single damn about what others thought seeing how he dressed as if he had stepped out straight from a bad teenage sitcom in which he played the delinquent Juvie rat.

Facial tattoos, nose piercing, ear piercings, a love for black and anything metallic, and hair gelled up so high and spiky that Tobirama had wondered if it might actually hurt to touch.

The only somewhat _nicely_ different thing about the kid happened to be his large, wolf-like dog. It was a wonder how this animal might be considered a _dog_ when everything about him screamed _wolf_. But he proved to be amicable enough to walk up to Tobirama and lick his hands and then begin to roll around in one of the cutest displays of cute the man had ever seen.

He'd always wanted a dog for himself. But he'd never brought himself to adopt one from nearby shelters or even take a pup when Hashirama's retrievers had given birth to a litter. He just didn't have enough time by himself to properly take care of such wonderful and active animals.

"Huh, he likes you." Kiba seemed completely confused at this as he scratched at the back of his neck with nails that were painted black. "He growled and tried to bite that other neighbor we went to visit."

Tobirama somehow managed to tear his gaze away from the dog still rolling on the floor to quirk a questioning white eyebrow at the teenager. "Do you mean the neighbor to my left? He's not the kindest of people and not many animals actually like him. His cat only tolerates him."

The annoying feline was always over at Tobirama's house, begging for food and attention. It wasn't that Orochimaru was a bad person, he was just somewhat socially stunted and didn't really know how to _not_ seem like a complete asshole.

"Doesn't like dogs either." The teen grunted with a scowl, "He threatened with cops if any our dogs went anywhere near his place. As if Akamaru would ever want his dirty yard! My dog has standards, you know."

No, Tobirama did not know. But Kiba had not seemed to care about that at the moment. (And, in all honesty, he still seemed somewhat unable to understand how little Tobirama sometimes understood him in the future.)

"But, anyway, yeah. We've got ten dogs who are usually pretty well behaved." Kiba continued with a light shrug of his shoulder as he dug his hands into his pockets.

It was at this point that Tobirama noticed how the dog, even with a spiked collar around his thick neck, did not have a leash controlling him.

"Sometimes they'll howl at the stray ambulance or chase after squirrels but are mostly harmless. If you see any large dogs running 'round, please don't get afraid. They're sweethearts, I swear."

From the way the teenager almost pleaded, it was clear to see that he'd experienced something unfortunate in the past with another neighbor. But Tobirama had not really cared at that moment because he could hear his phone beginning to ring from inside his back office.

"I will make sure to find you if ever I see that one of your mutts has escaped." Tobirama had nodded, a jolt of amusement running through him when the teen's face suddenly lit up in anger, then closed the door in front of his face to make sure Kiba was not able to stall him any further.

As he had walked back towards his office, the man heard a long string of curses that would have made a sailor blush coming from his front door. But then he'd gotten to his office, seen that it was Hashirama calling, and he'd forgotten all about the teenager because his brother was calling in a state of panic over not having any control over a rambunctious Tsunade.

~/~

The second time Tobirama had seen the uninteresting Kiba had been a time that had made him begin to see that Kiba was even more of a walking stereotype for hormonal teenagers than before.

It had been four in the morning. Much too early to be awake, much too late to be awake, yet the time that Tobirama had decided to fall asleep after a dozen different business calls that were much too pressing to leave for the next day.

As he had dried his hair after a quick shower, already dressed in a set of comfy cotton pants he had received the past Christmas, the man had decided to look outside of his window. It was always rather calming to see the empty streets of his home at this hour. In a way, it let Tobirama know that he and his family were safe from the rampant crime and corruption ruling the much too busy city.

Allowing Hashirama to convince him to move here had been one of the best things he had done. Especially after having lost Itama...

As he'd looked outside of his window, Tobirama had noticed an unusual lone figure being _thrown_ outside of a house's door. And he faintly heard screaming, things that were much too muffled to hear but the emotion was clear enough to know that the screaming was heated and pissed.

He'd stopped in his drying when he'd seen the dark clad figure throw a bag at the home's door, white teeth clear in his mouth because of how much he was opening it to scream. In a way, it reminded Tobirama of a dog's sneer when he was about to bite.

Then the figure had turned around, thrown a hoodie over his tattooed face, and stalked away from his home. His knuckles had been bandaged. Tobirama had only seen a flash of blood stained bandages on his hands before he'd dug them into his hoodie's pockets.

It wasn't difficult for Tobirama to analyze what he had just seen. Kiba, much like he'd expected, came from a broken and seemingly violent home.

With a frown, the man promised himself that if he saw more than just bandaged knuckles, he would call child services. Abusing a child was one of the most despicable things in the world anyone could do. But until he had any further proof, he would not act.

~/~

"Hey, you're that albino guy from across the street!"

Tobirama barely reacted to the upbeat and somewhat insulting words. He had gone through all of his life hearing about his odd looks and, quite frankly, he didn't give a damn about them anymore. He wasn't normal, he was aware of that. He couldn't run around in the sun like Hashirama wished he would. But he'd grown to accept this.

"You know Tobirama, Kiba?" Hashirama had asked from somewhere inside of his kitchen, only to have his head pop up from behind the doorframe to give the teenager a questioning look.

"Yeah! He lives in front of me." The teenager answered with a small smile, then looked away from both adults to cautiously slap a remote control from Tsunade's hands. "That does _not_ go into your mouth, young lady."

It was odd to see a teenager as dangerous looking as Kiba dealing with a fussy Tsunade. But instead of screaming out and attacking Kiba as Tobirama had seen the young blonde do to many other caretakers, the girl had huffed and then begun to grope around for one of her own toys.

Seeing how Kiba's attention was totally taken by his grandniece, Tobirama walked over to his brother in the question and leveled him with an unamused glare.

Even at forty eight years of age, even after having raised three children on his own after his wife's unforeseen death because of a crazed drunk driver, even after having laid one of those children down beside his mother's final resting place, Hashirama was still as much as a child at heart as he had been forty years ago. And he was still heavily affected by his younger brother's intense glare.

"I needed a sitter and he happened to be walking by one night. Tsunade took one look at his dog and she's refused to let anyone else take care of her since." Hashirama rushed out quickly, then turned around to finish stirring some rice he had been cooking for dinner. "He's really good with kids, Tobirama."

"I never said he wasn't." Tobirama breathed out with a frown pulling at the corner of his lips, then peeked his head around the corner of the kitchen to look in on the teenager.

He was now laying on his stomach with Tsunade sitting on his back with her chin rested on top of his head. He had the control in his hands, pointed at the TV as he changed from one channel to another.

It was all rather normal and domestic... If not for the fact that Kiba was dressed as if he were about to jump into a mosh pit.

For a moment, Hashirama didn't say a thing. And seeing how Tobirama kept quiet as well, they both knew that this topic of conversation had just about finished up.

"What are you doing here? I thought you would be busy until eight."

With a soft hum that vibrated throughout his throat, Tobirama crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back into the refrigerator that was decorated in a manner so purely Hashirama that he could feel himself gagging at the dramatic displays of love for his granddaughter.

"I thought so too. But the specialist who's assurances Itachi was waiting on never appeared. Because of this the plaintiff has no case. And apparently she doesn't have enough money to continue suing, so the case has been suspended indefinitely for the time being."

"Aw. Poor her. She really seemed like she could win." Hashirama pouted slightly at this, which made Tobirama roll his eyes.

"You _are_ aware that she was faking the injuries?"

"But her daughter's injuries were _real_." Hashirama shook his head, then turned to look at his brother. "She should have gotten something to help care for her."

Tobirama did not disagree. This Kurenai character deserved some kind of payment after Tobirama's clients had been negligent enough to allow her daughter to get injured while in their facilities. And her case would have been open and shut, with his clients giving more than enough to the single mother, if not for the fact that she had tried to squeeze even more money out of them by faking injuries of her own. Now she had wasted more money than she had on lawyers and had nothing but debt to show for it.

"And she would have."

Hashirama had never enjoyed hearing about Tobirama's cases. In most, he was the 'bad guy'. He worked for corporations and businesses, giving them elite and airtight protection against disgruntled and greedy people that tried to sue. His portfolio was chock-full of victories and more than fair settlements. Sure, he wasn't unbeaten, he'd sometimes lost cases because of overwhelming evidence against his clients. But those were few and far between.

"If not for her greed." The older male breathed out with a soft sigh before shaking his head, "You're too much of a lawyer, little brother."

"And you're too much of a Humanities professor, brother." Tobirama sighed back with a shake of his head, "Not all of us can be bleeding hearts."

Hashirama frowned softly at his words and seemed about ready to answer him back. But then there was a sudden shout from the living room, which had then been followed by the shattering of glass and a delighted squeal. The odd noises had both men immediately running into the room, both worried out of their mind for the young blonde held within.

When they reached the living room and were able to look over the light gray couch that faced the mounted television, both men found Kiba glaring down at a smiling Tsunade, all the while the girl looked up at him even as she hung suspended over the air by the back of her dress. Kiba's left hand held her there, even as his right one was bleeding profusely, crimson liquid dripping onto the carpet below.

Below him there was broken glass strewn all over the warm, brown carpet that covered the living room floor. There was blood staining the glass as well.

"What happened?" Hashirama rushed towards the teen to take Tsunade's weight off of him, all the while the tattooed teen hissed out his pain.

The kid's face was twisted up in pain and Tobirama knew he was more than able to swear out some of it. He'd heard the long string of curses the teen could let out in one single breath. And Tobirama was able to see that if he could, Kiba would currently be screaming out every single cuss he knew. But he held it all in. And all because Tsunade was inside of the room still.

"Little mongrel refused to listen to me when I told her she couldn't drink from the cup by herself. She insisted on grabbing the damn thing and got it before I could stop her. It fell, I went to grab it, but it cut my hand." The teen's words were strained and he was breathing harshly through his nose.

Hashirama began to immediately freak out when Kiba motioned to him with his hand, something that Tobirama had expected to happen sooner. Hashirama had never been good with blood or injuries.

Luckily, though, Tobirama had been there to grab the first aid kit hidden beneath the living room's coffee table- a safety measure he'd insisted on his brother having after years of having seen more than quite a few Senju induced disasters throughout his years of life- and rushed over to the teenager to grab his hand and drag him over to the kitchen.

He turned on the faucet's water and dunked the kid's hand under the stream. Then, once the water was running over his- oh, that was big- wound, the white haired man called out, "Hashirama, take Tsunade to her room. She needs some kind of discipline after this."

There was no argument on Hashirama's part. Then, as the water ran over the kid's wound, Tobirama heard the heavy footfalls of his brother jogging up to Tsunade's room to do as told. Even though he was not the kind of man to scold his granddaughter, Hashirama was more than capable of seeing that the blonde had gone too far this time around. And luckily for her, it wasn't Tobirama dealing with the disciplining.

A door above them slammed shut, signaling that Hashirama had entered Tsunade's room.

" _Fuck_!"

Tobirama was caught off guard by the teenager's sudden shout, but he wasn't surprised. Especially when a long string of curses flew out of his unrepentant mouth as he tried to keep his hand steady under the water.

But he had not been able to blame the teen for using such words. The gap in his hand was big enough that it would need medical attention.

~/~

Tobirama had wound up driving Kiba to the hospital and staying with him until his family arrived. Which they never had, leaving Tobirama to stay with him the whole night. As they had waited, Tobirama had ended up learning a lot as to why neither of his family members were around.

"Hana's probably still sucking face with that no good girlfriend of hers." The teenager had huffed as he'd kept a tight grip over his hastily yet efficiently wrapped hand, "And ma's supposed to be working graveyard over at the penitentiary. She works two jobs, you know? Says it's to give us everything we want in life, but I think she's just trying to spend as little time with us as possible."

Tobirama knew defense mechanisms when he saw them. Kiba, to try and ignore the pain, wound up droning on and on about his life as if he needed to explain himself to the man. Which, really, he didn't. Although it was interesting to hear about such a disfunctionally functional family. And rather sad, too. Weren't family members always supposed to be there for one another? Tobirama and Hashirama had always supported each other through thick and thin, even once they'd grown up and moved out of their childhood home.

"Wouldn't be surprised if ma doesn't hear 'bout this 'til tomorrow afternoon or somethin'. When she gets home, she goes straight to sleep. An' Hana's so busy with that girlfriend o' hers an' 'college' that she ain't 'bout to answer her phone unless it's the police o-or s-s-somethin'." Kiba's teeth had begun to chatter from the cold in the hospital at this point and it had been at this point that Tobirama had taken note of his clothes.

Even with his dark jacket, the boy was freezing. And now that the man took a good look at the garment, he could see it wasn't really made to retain heat. Just look good.

He'd grabbed one of Hashirama's heaviest coats before he'd driven the teenager to the hospital. But beneath he already had a pretty warm jacket, and, beneath that, a long sleeved shirt... Losing one layer would not hurt.

So with just a small bit of reluctance, the man shrugged off Hashirama's coat and offered it to the teen. Kiba stared up at him with the widest eyes, apparently much too stunned by the show of kindness to truly react.

"You're freezing." Tobirama grunted as he rolled his eyes and threw the coat over the teen's shoulders. Then, to avoid the awkward silence that had fallen over them, the man asked, "What's your sister studying?"

After that, Kiba had begun to tell him the rest of his life story: His father had been a no good cheat that had enjoyed controlling all of his past girlfriends. But when he'd met Kiba's mother, he'd fallen in love with her dominant and violent disposition. But after a few months of dating, the woman had wound up pregnant with Hana, Kiba's sister. They'd gotten married on the man's mother's wishes and had spent the next twelve years together. Kiba had popped up at some time around then.

But eventually, the marriage had crumbled and decayed into constant shouting matches and displays of dominance. They'd had a fairly simple divorce in which the woman had gotten full custody and he wound up having to pay a rather small amount of alimony. At this point in time, Hana had been running off with the gangs around the neighborhood, a bright eyed Kiba following behind her because of no knowledge as to how dangerous this had all been.

Some shit had happened, the kid had wound up with quite a few broken bones, had broken his fair share of bones, and Hana had decided to straighten herself out after an unwanted pregnancy. At twenty four years old, she was the mother to Kiba's bubbly six year old niece that lived with her father. Currently, she was trying to get visiting rights.

A tragic back story to a tragic looking teenager.

Shame.

"But I guess there's some hope. Hana's getting her degree, ma's barely ever in my hair, an' for the first time in forever, I managed to get an A on an essay."

At this point, the kid had been called in to get stitched up. And an hour later, once he had been professionally treated, Tobirama found himself having to take the kid back to his house.

Only to find that he'd left his keys inside his home thinking that his sister would be around when he returned from his babysitting gig and the sister was nowhere to be found. At this point, Tobirama began to think that, maybe, there was no hope for this Hana character.

"Shit..." Kiba had scratched at his head with his good hand, then shrugged, "Guess I'll find a motel or something."

Half of Tobirama wanted to let the kid go on his way. This was his tired half. The half that told him he'd been awake four more than twenty four hours straight already, was more tired than he'd felt in a while, and needed some sleep if he wanted to deal with all of his clients tomorrow.

But the other half, the much smarter and more work remembering half, told him that if Kiba wished to, he could sue. Hashirama, the damned fool, still did not have insurance covering his home even after Tobirama's insistence to get some. But if he were treated nice, then the kid would have no reason to even want to sue.

"I'm not letting you sleep in a motel." Tobirama grunted as he softly nudged the teenager back towards his car. "Get in while I park. I'll set up the guest bedroom for you."

This was the beginning of a relationship Tobirama could never have foreseen.

..~..~..

Please remember to review! I love your comments so!


	2. Chapter 2

Warning(s): The ones as last chapter still apply. Although Kiba controls his language expertly whenever Tsunade is around.

* * *

Kiba had never been the kind to respect authority. His father had been a no good son of a bitch he'd never miss. While his mother was a no good bitch that needed to pick up a damned parenting book before either he or Hana finally decided to revolt and shot her as she slept. Both were oppressive bastards that had beaten respect into him; beaten a hate for anything authoritarian into him without even knowing it.

Kiba had never had any authority figure in his life that hadn't tried to beat him into submission.

The teenager had thought that he would have eventually wound up dead in a ditch somewhere after a violent brawl that took his life. And he felt no shame in that. Everyone was bound to die at some point. Some just died sooner than others.

He'd lived a pretty interesting life. Horrible mother, terrible sister, always absent father... Goddamn, he would just wind up as another statistic of broken homes...

Even though he didn't really like it, his life had been an unfortunate series of events that all led to just one place: His grave.

... Well... That had been what he'd thought... But then a bright eyed, six year old girl had jumped on top of Akamaru as if he were some kind of horse and he'd met the first adult in his life he was compelled to respect and make proud.

Hashirama was nothing like any of the teachers Kiba had ever met in his life. He _worked_ to make sure his students got the grades they deserved. And he made time for any wayward students that needed an extra push, even if taking some of those meetings meant having to leave Tsunade in Kiba's care.

Why the man couldn't be a high school teacher rather than professor the teen could not understand.

But... Hashirama was too king to be _real_. The teenager still found it hard to believe that he wasn't some kind of faker; that this man was actually as nice and pure as his sister had been promiscuous and unrepentant.

He must be genuinely ignorant, must truly be able to see the good in the world that was obscured by misfortune and wrong choices. He must have been to be able to see _something_ inside of Kiba that no one else had ever been bothered to find before. Hashirama must have seen something if he actually contracted the teen as his only grand daughter's babysitter.

Kiba... Had never really thought he could make something of himself. Death was only one fight away and he'd accepted that. He was just another kid born into a dysfunctional family that would get nowhere in life.

But then Hashirama had deemed him smart enough to become _something_. Not just something, though. _Whatever he wanted to be_.

It was because of Hashirama that Kiba began to pay attention in class and start to work on getting good grades, rather than leaving them to hang in the D's and F's. It was because of this man with unbelievably long black hair that was beginning to gray on the sides that Kiba actually felt that he might be able to do something other than just _die_ when the time came.

And it was because of this Literature Professor that Kiba convinced his mother to move away from the city and into the suburbs.

~/~

"And why do we not pick fights with Rock Lee?"

Kiba spit out a mixture of saliva and blood onto the concrete below him, bandaged and bloodied knuckles thrust into his dusty and ragged black hoodie. "'Cause the little bitch squeals like a-"

A heavy yet peaceful hand drifted onto his shoulder, making the angered teenager freeze.

Kiba... Had never known a man that wouldn't kick his ass for his temper. His father, uncle, father's friends, and all of Hana's crowd had all been violent people. Just like everyone at his old school. Whenever someone had put a hand on him, it was usually to beat his punk ass mouth shut.

But Hashirama wasn't going to hurt him. This hand didn't have a single shred of anger moving it. Instead, all Kiba could think about was how he could only feel comfort radiating off of the university professor.

"Because then you have to lie to your mother about how your day in your new school went, Kiba." Hashirama's face was smiling kindly down at him, but there was no kind of snobiness within him. Kiba looked into it, _analyzed_ the man's face, but could only come up with genuine sympathy. "You won't get lucky enough to find me free to come down to your school a second time, Kiba. I happened to be free because it's the beginning of the term. But I won't be able to help you out again."

The teenager stared up at him in complete shock. Then, after a few seconds of not finding any words, the tattooed boy questioned, "You... You won't tell my ma, will ya?"

Hashirama's kind face morphed into one of confusion, "Why would you think I would? I thought you had called me to keep her from finding out."

The teen began to shuffle his feet as he looked down at his beaten up old sneakers, then shrugged softly as he kept his gaze from meeting the tall man's own. "I dunno..."

Silence fell over them both as they stood in the school's vast parking lot. There were a couple of hours left before his mother was supposed to go to work, but Kiba didn't want to see her. Or Hana neither. His bitch of a sister would just snitch on him and that'd wind up with Kiba getting his ass kicked by his mother.

A heavy sigh fell from Hashirama's lips and a twinge of something foreign forced Kiba to scowl. He didn't like disappointing Hashirama. This man was the only person that had ever believed he might actually be able to do something with his life. Letting him down was like a having a medieval dungeon master twist rusted, serrated knife into his heart at a snail's pace.

"How about we go pick Tsunade up and then go get some dinner? I could help you finish up that essay on _1984_ you were writing."

For a moment, Kiba didn't know how he should have reacted. He'd never had someone _not_ kicking his ass after getting in trouble in school. And he'd never been offered help on an essay. Everything he'd ever done in his life had been by himself.

But it didn't take a genius to see that if ever Kiba should ask for help on an essay, then it should be to someone that knew literature inside and out. "Yes, please! Where we gettin' the grub?"

~/~

Kiba had been left stunned when he'd found out that the albino jerk from across the street was Hashirama's brother. Not just brother, but _younger_ brother to boot!

"He's got a joint practice now with Madara Uchiha. They hated each other as kids, just about destroyed each other whenever they met in court, and have never been able to see eye to eye on _anything_." Hashirama informed the teenager as Tsunade ran off towards the slide in the small neighborhood park where her best friend, a young boy with an odd hair mutation named Jiraiya waited. "Yet they somehow are able to communicate well enough to work together... I'll never understand my brother..."

It was kind of weird to hear that the seemingly robotic red eyed man could feel _anything_. And it was even weirder to think that he had enough passion within himself to argue with _anyone_. Although the career of _lawyer_ fit the man so perfectly it was almost scary.

Ma had never had anything good to say 'bout ambulance chasers...

The teenager shouldered his battered messenger bag and lifted it up with his left hand, meaning to grab the next book he was supposed to read for his Literature class, _A Brave New World_.

First they had read _Animal Farm_. Then they continued reading Orwell's much more complex and disheartening dystopian tale that had left Kiba feeling terrified of the future, confused because of such a large _verbatim_ \- he'd learned that word and felt awfully intelligent-, and kind of amazed with how easy the prose was to understand; even for someone as dumb as him.

One large, calloused hand reached into his messenger bag to grab the book for him before the teenager could even get ahold of his book. And when he looked up at Hashirama, he found the man looking down at his bandaged hands with eyes that were full of guilt and worry.

"Did it hurt? Getting stitches, I mean."

Kiba stood frozen for a moment as the man continued to look down at his hand, then cleared his throat and allowed his left hand to let go of his bag's strap, then made to grab the book.

"Local anesthesia got it to feel pretty numb." He mumbled as he grabbed his book, then he looked over to some of the clean, wooden benches that were strategically placed around the kid's playground to allow those sitting to see just about all the angles to be seen of the place. "I'm fine, you know. Hurt like a bitch, but it's not my first time under the knife." Then he pursed his lips, an image forming in his mind that he didn't really like. "Well, more like needle and thread, I guess."

 _That_ had been when he had been only eight years old and had cut his leg on something he couldn't really remember as he tried to chase after Hana and her friends. She hadn't wanted to wait for him and had made him run. He hadn't been careful as he maneuvered through their cramped apartment and had gotten cut. And his mother had been kind enough to use her scant medical knowledge to keep from having to go to the hospital and miss her shift at work.

Coincidentally enough, that had been the first time Kiba had found himself hating his older sister.

Hashirama's eyes were swimming with indecision and confusion as Kiba glanced back at him. But then he soon nodded and moved after him, then quickly sat down at the park bench, easily taking up a good portion of it.

Hashirama, much like his parents, kept a good physique. He didn't look like someone that had raised three kids and was currently working on a granddaughter. If anything, he looked as if he was Tsunade's _father_. And he wasn't bad to look at, Kiba was more than aware that he'd left more than a few teachers and students swooning as he'd saved him from his great Rock Lee related disaster. But, in Kiba's honest opinion, he wasn't the best looking of the brothers.

Not that he was a fag or nothing. He could just understand that Hashirama and Tobirama had the kind of face that a lot of female writers would detail to much more depth than what was really needed.

"How far have you gotten into the book? Passed the first chapter?" The man murmured as he opened the book to the bookmark Kiba had placed in it, a homemade gift from Tsunade with too much pink and purple glitter for Kiba to truly understand, only to find that the teen was on the second page of the book. "Has the hand been bothering you?"

At having been caught by Hashirama, Kiba began to feel guilty. The man had assigned him to read two chapters of the book a week ago, before Tsunade had cut his hand. After that, he'd just asked for one chapter. School wanted him to read up to the fifth chapter, just like with _1984_. But Hashirama wanted him to read the books completely so he could truly understand the lessons they tried to slam into an ignorant reader.

"Kinda..." The teen grunted with a shrug, trying his best to not have to look into the man's disappointed brown eyes as he forced his gaze to follow a smiling Tsunade as she chased after a new boy that had joined them.

Dark hair, pointed and angular face, hazel eyes, and pale, almost gray skin. The kid looked a lot like that jerk of a neighbor that had hissed at him about calling the police if Akamaru got into his yard.

"Would you like to read together now?"

Quite frankly, the teen _didn't_ want to read. He wasn't as interested in that book as he had been with either of two stories he'd read before. And he didn't want to feel like a damned fool because Hashirama had a habit of reading out loud whenever Kiba was near. Usually he would shut up when Tsunade was near, but now that the girl was off with her friends, there was no excuse for them to remain quiet.

The problem with the man reading out loud was that he always, eventually, got tired. And when he did, he'd ask Kiba to continue for him. And even though the teen loved to read, he'd only just begun to become accustomed to reading _out loud_. He sounded like an idiot when he did so. And he refused to look like an idiot out in public.

"Uh..."

Hashirama's phone began to ring from within his backpack, luckily distracting him and taking his attention away from the book in his hands.

Kiba breathed out softly in relief as he allowed his body to slouch for a few seconds, then tried to find the hyperactive Tsunade once more from the large wave of children that had formed now that the sun had lowered a bit, meaning that quite a bit more families had decided to spend a pleasant Saturday afternoon together.

To his left, Kiba was able to see a girl he knew went to his school laughing as she pushed a boy that looked almost like her, except with shorter hair. Behind them there was a taller girl that looked just like them holding onto the hand of a brat that was clearly their last sibling. And behind these two were a man and woman that were undoubtedly their parents.

As a kid, all Kiba had wanted was a family that might have been able to look like those picturesque families he had grown up watching on TV.

Now, though, all he wanted was to just keep Hashirama pleased with his schoolwork.

"No, I'm at the park with Kiba and Tsunade..." He heard Hashirama murmuring softly from his side, "After this we're going to get some ice cream... It's _not_ because Tsunade wanted some, brother! _I_ want some. And deserve some after the week I've... Well, you _could_ come if you wanted to!" When Kiba turned to look at the man, he found that Hashirama was smiling fondly, even though he sounded exasperated.

... Why was he smiling? Shouldn't he be annoyed his brother was most probably being a dick? 'Cause Tobirama sounded like a dick from the way Hashirama was answering him.

"Alright, brother. Maybe next time... Well, I don't know if he'll be there, I kind of invited him out to apologize for Tsunade having hurt him... Why are you asking about Kiba so much? Wanna talk to him?"

Suddenly Kiba found a phone being pushed into his ear, causing him to jump away from Hashirama. "Here, say hi to my brother, Kiba."

The teenager's whole body was coiled tight because of the sudden sensation of _run_ that had come to him, but soon uncoiled. And then with a confused glance to Tobirama, then mumbled, "Yo."

 _"How is your hand?"_

Tobirama's voice was extremely deep. Even deeper than Hashirama's, and _his_ was already sounded as if were inches from scratching against the floor.

"Fine. Hurts like a bitch at night, but I'm good."

 _"No sign of infection?"_

"Mm-mm."

 _"When will you be getting your stitches taken out?"_

"Didn't the doc say three weeks?"

There was a hum from the other line that made Kiba think he'd had the time frame correct. Then, after a beat of silence, he heard the man ask, _"Who will take you to the appointment?"_

This time his tone was much softer, like one would adopt when they were in a library and didn't want to get caught after hours.

Kiba screwed his face up as a sudden flash of annoyance hit him, reminding him that, no, he did _not_ have a ride to the hospital. Nor did he have an older than twenty one years old adult willing to accompany him.

Hana was a bitch. Ma was always working. And pa was nowhere to be found. But he'd disappeared years ago.

"No one. Guess I'll just go-"

 _"Nonsense. Either Hashirama or I will take you. Put him back on so we can coordinate."_

The sudden interruption didn't piss Kiba as it normally would have. But he signaled for the man beside him to pull back his phone. So the man did so and began to talk once more, quickly humming and nodding to whatever it was that his brother was telling him.

As they continued to speak, Kiba looked down at his injured hand.

Tsunade's favorite unicorn stickers decorated his bandages. The girl had put them on as soon as she'd seen him that morning.

A frown pulled at the corner of his lips as he continued to look at the stickers. Then he heard, "Alright, brother. We'll go together if you're so worried. Now, what will we do about Tsunade's schooling? I honestly do not wish to put her in that private school you insist on being so great. The public school Kiba goes to doesn't seem _so_ bad. And she already has friends that will go there!"

Something odd was bubbling up inside of his chest... Something Kiba couldn't really place...

He'd never had anyone actually worry enough about his well being to _want_ to take him to the hospital. And he'd certainly never been given unicorn stickers and six year old kisses to try and make his cuts heal faster.

~/~

After having had his stitches pulled out and being given the A-O.K. by the doctor that had seen him the first time in the emergency room, Kiba found himself being pulled into a family dinner with Tobirama, Hashirama, and Tsunade.

"To celebrate you getting better! And for getting an A-plus on your _Brave New World_ test!" Hashirama had beamed.

"I'm hungry! And sorry! But you're good now!" Tsunade had chirped.

And Tobirama had grunted softly, "We're all hungry."

Then, in a move that had let the teenager completely taken aback, the three had looked at him as if they'd wanted him to tell them something. Kiba had blinked back at them all with a blank stare on his face, then had asked, "What?"

Tobirama's face morphed into something that wasn't quite annoyance but didn't look pleased at all as he said, "Where do you want to go?"

The question only made Kiba even more confused. "Why does it matter?" He asked, then looked over at a softly frowning Hashirama. "Ain't we going where you want to go?"

Hashirama was most probably going to pay, after all. He'd heard the two brothers faintly arguing over who would be paying as he'd helped Tsunade eat her breakfast in the dining room table. They'd stayed in the kitchen to have their whispered discussion.

First discussion Kiba'd ever seen that wasn't on TV where people didn't shout and things weren't smashed.

"I'd much rather take you where you want to go, Kiba." The man answered him with what kind of looked like a forced smile, but Kiba knew better than that.

Professor Hashirama Senju _didn't_ force smiles. Either he was genuine about them or he didn't give them.

With a soft shrug, the teen looked down at Tsunade. The girl looked back up at him with curious blue eyes. "How's Cracker Barrel sound? I like their steak."

Not a complete lie. But he knew that the restaurant served the girl's favorite mac and cheese. And Hashirama didn't hate any of the items on the menu either. So it was the best place to go to.

"Yay!" Tsunade jumped, then grabbed Kiba's left hand to begin to pull him towards the back seat of Tobirama's sleek, luxurious car.

Hana would know what model this was. What year it had been made. From what brain its design had come from. But all Kiba knew was that this was a car he'd never be able to buy on his own.

"Cracker Barrel! Cracker Barrel! I'm going to get _all_ the mac and cheese!" The girl sang, then hugged Kiba's leg tightly. "You're the bestest big brother ever!"

For a moment, Tsunade's blonde hair became a sandy brown and her skin paled a tiny bit. For a heartbeat, all Kiba could see was the niece he hadn't seen in six months attached to his leg, thanking him for the bestestest birthday gift in the whole wide world, it was better than ponies and cookies and fairies and groblins combined!

Under her father's tutelage, his niece was an incredibly bright six year old with a love for mythology Kiba only wanted to help expand. Even though she didn't always remember the names correctly, hence the term groblin.

"Sure thing, Ten-" Kiba managed to stop himself in the middle of the girl's name and instead ruffled Tsunade's hair to try and cover up his blunder. " _Tsunade_."

Tsunade frowned at her hair being messed up and stuck her tongue out at him, earning an amused chuckle from the teenager. Then they heard the sound of the car's doors being unlocked, which made Kiba open the door, allow Tsunade to climb in, then slid onto the plush leather chairs with as much discomfort as when he'd first slid in all that time ago with an open and bleeding hand.

..~..~..

And the new chapter has been published! Please don't forget to review!


	3. Chapter 3

Warning(s): Kiba does _not_ control his language this time around. And further implied domestic abuse.

* * *

It was impossible to _not_ see how damaged Inuzuka Kiba was. One would have to be blind to be able to miss everything that was amiss with the teen. And even though Hashirama was usually an oblivious idiot, he was more than able to see the dysfunction within the boy he had taken under his wing.

"His mother is barely ever home. Before I contracted him to take care of Tsunade, he'd just wander around the city." Hashirama's lips were pulled into an uncustomary frown as he sat behind Tobirama's large, pristinely organized desk, "That's how we met, actually. He was walking around like a soul straight out of Hades and wound up crossing mine and Tsunade's path. She fell in love with his dog."

Tobirama had not heard this story before. Even though Hashirama was usually a man that enjoyed to chatter on and on about most things, he'd actually been pretty tight lipped about the young teenager that helped him take care of his granddaughter. Although, from the way his eyes shined and his shoulders straightened whenever he spoke about the kid, it wasn't hard to guess why he'd been so careful with his brother.

Hashirama's expression whenever he looked at Kiba was the same as the one he'd wear whenever he'd looked at his youngest son. A son that currently occupied his rightful ( _wrong and untimely_ ) place in their family's plot at the local graveyard.

"So you decided to let Kiba into your life because of his dog?" Tobirama asked in a voice he knew sounded dismissive. But his brother knew him well enough to know that he _was_ paying attention. To both his story and the paperwork he was currently working on.

That Kurenai character, the one without any more money, wanted to meet with him. She'd sent him a letter that was just shy of sounding like begging. Aside from that, there was the paperwork to actually complete and file away on this suspended case.

Tobirama had never been the kind to enjoy leaving his cases up in the air...

"Just about, yeah." Hashirama chuckled softly as he then said, "You've got to admit, Akamaru does as much a good job of taking care of Tsunade as Kiba."

From what he had seen, Tobirama could agree with his brother. The moments in which he was able to see Akamaru with his grandniece were very little. But what he had seen had left him more than pleased.

Although Tsunade was now constantly crowing about wanting a dog of her own...

After this was said, the brothers fell into a pleasant silence. Tobirama was close to finishing up with his paperwork and Hashirama was easygoing enough to not mind having to wait a bit longer.

Once the younger brother had finished what he was doing, the man stood up, pocketed the letter sent to him by Kurenai, and nodded over at Hashirama.

"Let's go make sure those two haven't burned down your house."

Hashirama chuckled at the not-quite joke as he pulled on his coat and opened the door into Tobirama's office, "You know Kiba would never let her do that. There are too many books he likes in there to allow that to happen."

A small smile found its way onto the man's lips at the reminder of how much Kiba truly loved Hashirama's collection of books- he'd even gone as far as _sneaking_ into the man's library during his first few days of getting to know him because he didn't want to get caught in fear of getting booted. When he'd first heard about this, Tobirama had found it hard to believe a teen that looked like Kiba might like literature classics. But when he saw the teen with Hashirama's beaten up copy of _Brave New World_ pinched between his arm and stomach as he chased after Tsunade, the man had begun to see the teen enjoyed a good classic.

As they walked the echoing halls of his small practice, the men crossed paths with Tobirama's partner, Madara.

This was a man Tobirama could not stand. When one spoke of just personality, he was one of the worst people in the world. Annoying, rude, and conceited. But, professionally speaking, he was the smartest choice for a business partner. And after years of putting up with him because of his brother, Tobirama had become accustomed to dealing with the jerk.

"Heading off so soon?" Madara asked Hashirama, for it had always been those two to get along. "I thought you had a sitter taking care of the ankle biter."

"Yeah, a neighborhood kid." Hashirama answered with an easy smile, all the while Tobirama breathed in, steeled himself for a long conversation, and leaned against the wall beside him. "His name's Kiba and he's _great_ with kids. Not only that, but he's one of the best students I've ever head."

"Is he in your class?"

"Not at all! High school! But he _listens_ , Madara!"

Hashirama had a pride filled glint in his eyes and his voice was agitated and happy... They'd be here a while.

~/~

Tobirama had no idea why it was that he was driving down to the local high school.

Well, he _knew_ why it was that he was going there. What he didn't quite understand why was he still allowed himself to do things for Hashirama even when he didn't want to.

 _"Please, brother! If his mother finds out, she'll skin him alive! I just need you to pick him up as if you were his uncle or grandfather- it doesn't matter. The school accepts anyone that looks fancy enough. It's your lunch break, so you shouldn't be too bothered, right? But, please! I'll take him off of your hands as soon as I finish with today's lectures."_

The fact that his brother had said the school accepted anyone that looked 'fancy enough' to pick up kids from school was not the right thing to say when they were currently debating over what school they should send Tsunade to. If there were no safety measures to keep these kids protected and safe from getting kidnapped, then there was _no way_ Tsunade would be enrolled.

The man's black Audi stuck out like a sore thumb among the beaten up cars used by both the student and laboral bodies. It wasn't a car that had cost him too much, he'd found a good deal. And it was, luckily enough, not high maintenance enough that he wound up having to send it to the shop every other month. But it was well kept and _looked_ as if it had cost more than fifty thousand dollars.

He parked it in the closest parking spot he could find and made sure to activate all the security measures it held. This school didn't have crime running rampant in it like the ones in the city, but that did not mean Tobirama trusted the more criminally inclined students.

When he walked into the large office in the main building, Tobirama was hit by the smell of scented candles, ink, freshly brewed coffee, and the slightest scent of blood. And when he looked over to one of the chairs near the principal's door, he found two bloodied teenagers.

One was a dark haired boy with one of the dumbest hair cuts Tobirama had ever seen, an almost ghastly love for the color green on his clothes, and an inclination to shift his eyes over to the door every few seconds as if in fear of whatever would come in.

The other was a dark haired boy he knew well.

"Tobirama Senju?" Came a curious, completely interested voice.

"That's me." The man turned from looking over Kiba (he took _complete_ note of the way the teen avoided his gaze) to see the secretary that had called him. "I'm here to pick up Kiba."

"Oh, we know." The woman's hair was dark, but, whenever she moved her head just the slightest bit, there were flashes of purple to be seen. "But, you see, this is his second fight with the same kid. So the principal wants to talk to you about warnings of a third fight."

Tobirama did not have time to spend in a principal's office as a middle-aged, over bearing, and condescending _brute_ warned him over a kid that wasn't even his. He had more than enough work to complete back at the firm. But Hashirama wanted him to help Kiba... And if he didn't stick around, the kid's mother would be called. And he was sure that if he allowed that to happen, then Hashirama wouldn't leave him alone.

With a stiff nod, the man moved to sit down on the uncomfortable plastic chair beside Kiba.

Neither had a single thing to say.

~/~

"If another fight is to break out, Kiba will be getting expelled. Morino has a zero-fighting tolerance and the only reason he hasn't kicked him out yet is because of the sudden spike in grades he's currently been on. He's lucky he's only getting suspended right now."

As Tobirama explained the situation to his brother, he noted that Kiba kept his head down and towards the dining room table.

Hashirama frowned heavily as he looked over at the kid from the corner of his eyes, then asked, "And Rock Lee? How hurt was he? What was his punishment?"

With his arms crossed over his chest and with a plate of food that had yet to be touched sat in front of him, Tobirama finally turned to glare at Kiba.

"Why don't you answer that?"

The teenager shifted in his chair as he stifled a flinch, then breathed out heavily and answered, "Split lip, couple a cuts... Fucker said 'e lost a tooth..."

"What?" Hashirama gasped, eyes wide, even though Kiba refused to look up at him. "You hit that boy hard enough to make him lose a tooth?!"

Tsunade wasn't inside of Hashirama's house. Which was the reason why Kiba had used such a word. And also the only reason why Hashirama dared shout out. His brother, even if in a fit of blind fury, never screamed whenever he was around his granddaughter. He still remembered their father's propensity to become angered much too quickly and refused to give Tsunade that image of himself.

"He was going off 'bout his fucking family again." Kiba spit out, even as he kept his gaze down on the dinner he had yet to touch.

It had been a quick dinner Hashirama had picked up on the way home, apparently feeling like there would be no time for a home cooked meal. Tobirama was grateful, seeing how he'd ended up skipping his lunch to rush back into the office and continue working. And Kiba, if he hadn't been pig headed enough to refuse to eat until either of the brothers did, would have been scarfing it down like a starved animal, seeing how he too had lost his lunch time.

As he'd sat in Tobirama's office, the man had learned quite a few things from just his body language.

First, the teen had a tendency to jump at any loud noise that startled him. If it was because he was naturally a jumpy individual or because he thought loud noises meant danger, Tobirama was not sure. But both seemed likely. Second, he did _not_ like sitting around. He'd squirm, bounce his knees, twiddle his fingers, and randomly begin to hum to chase off the boredom. And, the last thing he'd learned, was that Kiba did _not_ like being touched suddenly. Sasuke had just barely dodged the fist thrown his way when he'd asked the teen if he wanted anything to drink.

Tobirama had been slightly amused at seeing the teenager trying to keep himself busy and quiet as he'd worked. Although he'd wound up becoming even further frustrated with the troubled boy when he'd almost hurt his partner's nephew.

"There is nothing wrong with talking about someone's family." Hashirama told the boy in a firm voice that left no room to discuss. "You cannot solve your problems with your fists, Kiba. That is not the right way to go about your life."

"Dyumbass cunt of a bastard don't understand nothin' but fists-" Kiba began to shout and look up defiantly at his brother, only to suddenly force his head back down.

" _Doesn't_. Kiba." Hashirama hissed in warning as his jaw visibly tightened, "Look at me, dammit."

Kiba's whole body froze up at the sudden growl that left Hashirama, making Tobirama frown.

Even though he was able to keep himself under control when around Tsunade, Hashirama still had Butsuma's anger. The man was less of a terrifying creature when compared to their brother... But it was almost scary how Tobirama was able to compare them both.

"Brother." He called out, grabbing his attention. Then he sent a pointed look to the man, motioning to the subtle quaking that had overtaken the teen's shoulders.

If one were to strain their hearing, they would hear the teen sniffling to hold back sobs.

When Hashirama noticed this, his whole demeanor fell. His face went from one of restrained anger to complete terror, and he quickly moved to try and salvage the situation.

"Tsunade should be arriving any time now; she went to visit her friend Jiraiya, you see. I'm sure she'll be excited to see you tonight, seeing how you weren't supposed to come here." Hashirama's tone was softer and much more composed now, having taken note of how much his anger was affecting the teenager. "You know you did wrong. You know you can't get into another fight. How about we just finish this dinner and go ahead and watch a quick movie before putting Tsunade to bed?"

Tobirama did not agree with Hashirama's complete turn. The fact that this was the second time the kid had gotten into a fight proved that he _didn't_ understand that he couldn't continue getting into them. But, at the moment, he was more than sure that Kiba was about to break down. So he wasn't about to push the teen to try and become somewhat disciplined.

Although, if his brother wished to help the teen, he couldn't continue to be too soft with him. The kid would need a heavier hand to keep him grounded. To keep him from doing anything as stupid as getting into a third fight.

~/~

The Saturday morning after Kiba had been suspended, Tobirama found himself having a small conversation with the kid.

His mother found out about the fight and subsequent week long suspension. And she had not happy with any of this at all.

"You worthless little shit! I work two jobs just for you to get suspended from school? Kiba Inuzuka, either you start taking your future seriously or I'll disown you faster than you can get a girl pregnant!"

Tobirama had _not_ expected these words to be the ones to walk out to hear when he began to make his way to his brother's home. But _they_ had been what greeted him on what had been a rather peaceful Monday morning. And when he looked over at his neighbor's, he found a woman that looked like a carbon copy of Kiba only with ample breasts, taller height, and an even _fiercer_ look on her face smacking the teen upside the head.

Kiba wasn't even out of his pajamas. But he was still being dragged out of his home by the rather terrifying woman.

"Now you get the hell out of my house. I can smell the weed you've been using in your room and I refuse to let you stay alone for the rest of the day! Hana, her girl, and I are going shopping and I'm not about to let you have your fun in my house!"

Behind her, two more women walked out. The first had long black hair that was pulled into a polished ponytail, features that looked a lot like Kiba's own, just much less feral, and two fang shaped tattoos on her left shoulder. And the second was a brown haired woman that wore a long, tight, blue dress that left almost nothing to the imagination and had a face Tobirama immediately _knew_ he would never trust.

"But, ma, I don't-"

"Want me to kick your ass?!" The woman interrupted, shoving him over towards his mailbox to then shove a finger in his face. "Then shut your petty mouth up. I don't wanna hear it." Then she turned back to the two woman, "And today started off as a good day..."

The one Tobirama assumed to be Kiba's sister shrugged half heartedly, "Told you he's been up to weird stuff lately, mom."

"Damned deadbeat." The woman frowned, then shouted, "Just like his father!" To make sure Kiba heard.

After this, the three women piled into a clean yet old pickup truck Tobirama assumed to belong to Kiba's mother. This left Kiba standing out by the mailbox in only his beaten up pajama pants, barefoot and shirtless in the early morning.

As he'd watched the scene unfold, Tobirama had slowly walked down his walkway. He'd looked on quiet, silently taking notes of how truly dysfunctional the family was. And once the women were gone, he crossed the street and cleared his throat to get a glaring Kiba's attention.

Not once, in all the time Tobirama had spent around him, had the teenager _reeked_ of weed. Even though, at one point, he'd faintly smelled of it. When Tobirama had pointed it out, Kiba had shoved his jacket off and thrown it into the trash.

His father had smoked. His sister smoked. The no good girlfriend smoked. But Kiba _didn't._

When he heard Tobirama, Kiba jumped away with wide eyes. But when he noticed who the man was and how he wasn't about to get hurt, the teen visibly relaxed.

"Oh, hey Tobirama..." He tried to offer a small smile, which failed and looked more like a wince than anything else. "Sorry... If that woke you up, I mean... Shitty way to wake up..."

Kiba continued to ramble about something at that point, but Tobirama did not pay attention. Instead he looked over the teen's visible skin, scanning to try and find any traces of bruises, cuts, or makeup used to hide injuries.

His face was still busted up from the past fight, and there were two bruises to his side, just like Tobirama had known would form after the two hits Rock Lee had managed to land.

There was no concrete evidence of domestic abuse. _Yet_.

"Sis smokes." Kiba huffed, crossing his arms over his chest as he hunched over self-consciously. "Mei does too. But _I_ don't. Can't stand that shit, you know."

Tobirama did not know. But it seemed that Kiba wasn't aware of that.

"Bitch says she uses it to focus an' shit, but I ain't an idiot. I'm a goddamn moron, but I'm _not_ an idiot. An' I ain't a fool either." He frowned heavily as he glared over in the direction his mother had left, "Bitch told on me. That damned girl o' her's is horrible. Makes her snitch on me just ta get herself some shiny new purse or whatever from ma."

This was odd. "What do you mean?"

The teen passed his hands over his arms, trying to warm himself in the morning chill. "Whenever I'm caught by either Hana or Mei, ma rewards 'em for 'keeping me on the straight an' narrow' by buying them useless shit they'll never fucking need or use."

The fact that this woman abandoned her son out in the middle of the street without proper clothes and ran off to 'reward' her daughter and daughter's girlfriend for having told on Kiba... It was _horrible_.

Butsuma had been a military man that had accepted _zero_ shit from his sons. He'd drilled discipline and respect into them as soon as they had been able to understand the difference between right and wrong. And he'd handed out some harsh punishments in his time, but they'd all had reasons to be in the end...

All parents had a different parenting style. All parents had a reason for what they did. Maybe this was just this woman's way of disciplining a child she thought was too far into troublemaking for normal punishments.

"Why don't you come in? I'll give you some breakfast and find some old clothes for you to change into." Tobirama offered the teen, all the while motioning for his own home.

"Sure about that?" The teen asked, "She don't seem like she'd be happy seein' me gettin' helped and shit."

It was odd to hear that Kiba actually cared about what his mother thought, but the man soon nodded. "What she does not know will not hurt her."

..~..~..

Kiba's family is so messed up... I feel so bad putting him through this...

But, please, review and tell me what you think! Make this struggling college student happier than she already is! ... 'Cause she ain't all that happy...


	4. Chapter 4

Warning(s): Same as before. And some bitchy Hana as well.

* * *

They had a group project to worry about. Even though Kiba was suspended, he still had to finish his school shit, no matter what. And one of the things he had been assigned before he'd gotten suspended for fighting with the son of a bitch that had everything in the world was a history group project.

Hinata's family didn't want the likes of her friends coming around their home, so they couldn't meet up there.

Shino's dad was never in the home, and he never wanted people around when he wasn't there. So it was obvious as to why they weren't able to go.

Kiba didn't have keys to his own house, so they couldn't go there either. Even though he didn't admit to it, this was because his mother actually believed that he would spend his whole day smoking weed if she allowed him to stay there. Which was the reason why he usually always found himself in either Hashirama or Tobirama's homes.

And Naruto lived with parents that were much too eager to invite their friends over, even though they didn't like having teenagers working in their home. They would rather have Naruto finish his group projects outside and pick him up later on.

"We should have asked Rock Lee to work with us, not this dumbass!" Naruto didn't know how to keep his mouth shut, but Kiba stopped himself from beating respect into the little shit out of respect for the only friend he had in the whole school.

Hinata Hyūga was the only person in the whole damn school that didn't judge Kiba for coming from a rough background. She tolerated his rough ways and even tried to encourage him to try and be nicer to other people without sounding like a condescending bitch. Which was pretty interesting, seeing how she came from the snootiest family to have ever lived in this small county.

"Well we didn't. We have Kiba. Now shut up." Shino hissed back at the idiotic blonde, which some may have seen as an act of friendship on his part.

But Kiba knew better. The Aburame spawn just wanted to shut Naruto up. He wanted them _all_ to shut whenever they became annoying. Who it was did not matter. Just as long as they were not wasting oxygen, then Shino didn't give a damn about any of them. It was when they began to screech out irritating things that he decided to speak up and shut them up.

He'd even told Hinata at one point to think over what she was saying so she didn't stumble over her words like a child.

Bastard thought he could be a dick to everyone around him simply because he was one of the highest achieving students in the school... Well, Kiba didn't give a damn about _him_. He could jump off a cliff and die for all the Inuzuka cared. Just as long as he didn't bother him, then everything would be fine.

The Inuzuka frowned heavily as Naruto huffed in anger. He didn't like the blonde anymore that the blonde liked him. But they were stuck together for a project they _needed_ to pass if they wanted at least a C in their History class. So they had to work together and work _well_.

The bell that rang whenever the door to the diner was opened let out a kind of annoying tune. Then Kiba heard heavy footsteps making their way towards their table. And when he glanced up from the booth where they sat, he found Tobirama heading towards them.

"Hey, Tobirama." He greeted, then asked, "What are you doing here? I thought I had told Hashirama I'd walk home after this meeting."

"It's already eight at night, Inuzuka. I'm not about to let you walk the thirty minutes it takes to get to your house from here." The older male snapped, red eyes focusing on the papers that were scattered all around their table.

Even though he didn't say anything about the work, Kiba knew he was somewhat curious. So he informed him, "Project on the Great Potato Famine. You know, when everyone died because there weren't any potatoes like a bunch of fucktards."

The man hummed with a stiff nod, then looked over the faces of Kiba's group mates. And when Kiba turned to all of them, he found Naruto and Hinata both staring up at him with wide, shocked eyes. Shino's face was always covered by an annoying hood and sunglasses, so Kiba wasn't really able to gauge his reaction.

"Hinata." He nodded at the girl, making her face light up like a christmas tree and just barely avoid a squeak, "I presume your father is doing fine?"

She nodded quickly but quietly, which wasn't much of a surprise. She wasn't the kind of chick to use many words. Although it was weird to hear that Tobirama knew her father.

"This doesn't seem like a good enough atmosphere to be working on your project." The man grunted, then motioned for them all to follow him. "I'll allow you to finish up your work in my house for now."

Kiba didn't argue with that, for he was already used to Tobirama ordering him around like some kind of child. Although from the way the other teens' movements seemed somewhat stunted, he guessed that they weren't used to being ordered around.

Lucky.

~/~

A month after the History project pairing, Kiba found himself working with Hinata once more. Not in the History class, but in the Literature one. And they were supposed to analyze a set of Pre-World War II era poems. Which was pretty fucking stupid considering that most of the poems were initially written in another language and had been (most probably) poorly translated into the English language.

This time around, though, Kiba was allowed to go to Hinata's home. He wasn't exactly sure why, but he guessed the reason for this pretty easily enough.

"Thank you for allowing the kids to work together, Hiashi! I have a lot of essays to correct and Tsunade needs to be picked up in two hours! I don't think I would have been able to watch over both of these kids if they stayed at my house."

Hashirama was smiling broadly as he thanked Hinata's father, who was merely nodding easily. "Of course, Hashirama. Do not worry about young Kiba's homework. It will be finished by the time you come to pick him up."

Kiba found it awfully _hypocritical_ of this guy to accept him into his home now that he knew Hashirama and Tobirama Senju had taken him under his wing. And it was almost comically stupid of him to try and act as if he were a good friend of the eldest of the Senju siblings. The guy was a grade-A dick that needed to check himself before he made himself seem like even more of a social parasite.

"K-Kiba?" Hinata asked as she softly tugged at his jacket's sleeve, taking his attention away from both men so he could look at her. "We sh-should get to w-work."

"You really should. Kiba, if you don't mind, I'll be picking you up at around nine. Is that alright?"

Kiba didn't know why his chest began to _flutter_ as if there were some butterflies trying to dance around inside of his ribcage. But it felt somewhat nice.

"Yeah. Course. Why wouldn't it be?"

Hashirama got a weird look on his face at that point. Somewhat exasperated, yet fond at the same time.

Kiba was used to staying up until early midnight on school days normally. And to staying outside of his home even longer. Being picked up at nine to return to Hashirama's house for a quick greeting to Tsunade before he went back to his house wasn't bad at all. Especially because it made him return to his house after his mother and sister had left for their respective jobs.

"I'll see you later, kid."

The long haired male then said his goodbyes to Hiashi as Hinata began to pull him towards the large family room inside of the almost mansion like house.

~/~

By the time winter time came around, Kiba found out that Hiashi was not, in fact, some social parasite. Instead, he had been a childhood friend of the Senju and had decided that if Kiba was good enough for them, then he could try and allow his daughter to spend some time with him.

"He's kind of like Tobirama in the sense that he's socially stunted." Hashirama explained to him as they sat on his couch, Tsunade nestled in between both of them with Akamaru's head on her lap as they watched a movie she had chosen.

Kiba wasn't completely sure of the plot. There was some loud blonde kid, ninjas and samurai, and some kind of chosen one storyline. He wasn't completely sure. Nor was he following it to closely, seeing how he was still finishing up projects some of his teachers had allowed him to raise his grades.

"He may seem like a jerk, but really, he just wants to protect his daughters. His wife died during childbirth to his youngest and they're his last reminders of her. You can understand him wanting to keep both Hinata and Hanabi safe."

Kiba _could_ understand that. Hell, if he were in his shoes, he'd keep Hinata and Hanabi as far away as possible from himself. He knew he wasn't an upstanding citizen. And he wouldn't trust himself if he came anywhere the girls.

But he felt no shame in admitting that he had no feelings other than friendship for Hinata. So Hiashi certainly didn't have to leave Hanabi watching over them to make sure they didn't get up to 'teenage antics' if they were left alone. That wouldn't happen in a million years. Besides, he knew that Hinata's eyes were set on only _one_ person. And it wasn't him.

"So you've known him for how long now?" He asked to continue the conversation, all the while he uncapped one of Tsunade's markers to fill in some of the letters on the poster he was using for his Biology project.

 _'The Hierarchy of Apes Explained'_

He didn't really care all that much about primates. But out of the three topics his teacher had allowed, a sarcastic man they called Mr. Zero Shit's Given, this was the best. The other two were either about the reproductive rituals of four different species (which could be chosen) and the environmental impact of humanity and how the world was fucked no matter what people tried to fix.

"Well, I'm forty eight now... So it's been some thirty eight years, I think?" Hashirama hummed in thought, then craned his neck to look over at Kiba's work.

"Why aren't there any monkeys on there?"

"Because I'm talking about primates."

"Exactly. Why are there no long tails?"

Kiba smiled softly at the question, "Because those are monkeys. Not primates."

"I want a monkey!" Tsunade suddenly gasped, pointing at the television screen. "That one can talk and can fight! I want one!"

"Honey, there's no such thing as talking monkeys." Hashirama patted her head with a kind smile, "Kiba, explain to her why it is that monkeys can't talk. And why there aren't any on your project."

It was weird to have someone ask him to actually _educate_ someone else. But Hashirama had made him do weirder, much more novel things in the few months they had known each other. So he didn't really mind telling Tsunade all he knew about monkeys and apes because, for once in his life, he actually felt like he knew the subject inside and out.

He'd never really cared so much about learning before. But now that he knew what it felt like to _know_ , he kind of liked it a lot. He felt smart whenever he explained these kinds of things to either of them. Especially because both Hashirama and Tsunade seemed amazed by all of the knowledge he now held.

Sixteen years of his life had passed by without him knowing how good it felt to have people around him that actually cared for him. And now all he wanted was for Hashirama and Tsunade to always stay by his side.

Even though he knew that, eventually, they would both leave. He'd grow up. They'd grow old. He'd have to go to college and they'd forget all about him. It was just the way the world worked.

Although, he _didn't_ feel like his destination was a grave anymore. Now he felt like he would actually be able to get a diploma in something that would help him get a nice and steady job.

Lawyer sounded pretty cool... Although college professors seemed to have much more flexible hours...

In the middle of his explanation to Tsunade's question; but _why_ can't I adopt a gorilla and name him Charlie?; there was a knock on Hashirama's door. With a quick 'excuse me' the man stood up and went to the door, opening it without much hesitation.

"Okay... But can I adopt a gorilla and name him _Bobby_ instead of Charlie?" Tsunade questioned curiously, making Kiba smile softly.

She was such a _kid_. It was adorable.

"Tsunade, you can't just take a gorilla out of its natural environment."

"Why? People do that all the time to put them in the zoo." The girl cocked her head to the side, "That's why I know that gorillas can be taken and named cool things like Rex or Munchy."

Kiba didn't hear when the door to Hashirama's home closed. But when he glanced up from Tsunade to look over at the hall that led into the receiving room, he found Hashirama walking back. With Hana standing behind him.

"So this is where you've been hiding this whole time?" The woman questioned, only to whistle as she looked over Hashirama's home. "Looks rich."

"Hana..." He warned, getting up to stop her from... Well, he wasn't sure. She wasn't the kind to start fights out of nowhere. She was the kind to bide her time and strike when one was most vulnerable. And she'd never been a fan of stealing from neighbors. But he still felt as if he had to protect Hashirama and Tsunade from his sister.

Wasn't that just fucked up?

"Mom wants you to go back home." Even though her tone was civil, her eyes were shining with a feral intent Kiba knew extremely well.

Taking in a deep breath, the teen reminded himself that there was no such thing as _peace_ in his life. There was always drama and conflict. It was just the way the Inuzuka lived.

"Why? I'm finishing up school things." He tried to save himself from returning to his house, but Hana was nothing if not stubborn.

"As if you give a damn about 'school things'." She chuckled harshly, then glared at him. "Get your ass in motion before I tell your about the stash you keep hidden in the wall behind your Linkin Park poster."

Kiba's eyes widened at the threat, "But I don't have-"

"Think she'll believe it's not yours?" She smirked back, crossing her arms over her chest as she jutted her hip out in a pose Kiba knew all too well.

Her victory pose.

"Alright..." He breathed out, then looked at Hashirama.

The man's face was tight and there was a barely noticeable down turn to his lips. And Kiba immediately began to feel bad because he knew that he was the reason why the man wasn't smiling anymore. He most probably thought that stash was his... And he'd most probably never get to see Tsunade ever again after this.

"Bye, Tsunade." He ruffled her loose blonde hair and quickly picked up all of his materials, trying to rush out of the Senju household before Hashirama threw him out.

But as he was shoving his books into his bag, he found a soft, large, and _kind_ hand falling on his shoulder. "Leave them. Just pick them up tomorrow."

He was surprised to hear Hashirama tell him this. But he wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth.

Quickly Kiba nodded. And then he rushed out of Hashirama's house, only stopping to make sure that Hana was right behind him.

~/~

When winter break hit, Kiba didn't rush home with his report card. Instead he ran all the way to Tobirama's house, knowing that the small family unit would be there for a family lunch. Usually they ate at Hashirama's home, but this time Tobirama had decided to make the food. And Kiba had been invited, but he'd thought of skipping out to sulk in his room over his bad grades.

Even though the school would let out early, he was sure he wouldn't have reason to head on back to the neighborhood that housed his home.

But he _didn't_ get bad grades. And he had complete reason to show off his grades to the men that had made him getting _good ones_ possible.

He knocked in a swift and quick manner, barely able to hold in his jitters as a large smile threatened to split his face. And when Tobirama opened the door, he couldn't help himself as he launched into the man and hugged him tightly.

"I got A's and B's!"

Tobirama remained frozen for a few seconds before he slowly began to hug him back. Then, with almost awkward motions, he pulled Kiba back to hold him by the shoulders and look him in the eyes.

"Did you just leave the school?"

"Yup!" Kiba nodded, then glanced over the man's shoulder to find Tsunade and Hashirama walking up from the inner working of the house. "Guys! I got my grades!"

Tobirama stepped to the side to allow him to run in. So Kiba rushed in scooped Tsunade up and hugged her tightly, beginning to twirl her. The girl squealed and giggled in glee, hugging Kiba around the neck so tightly she almost choked him.

Kid had quite the grip.

"I got good grades! I got _awesome_ grades!" He cheered, then stopped spinning to face a fondly smiling Hashirama. "A's and B's! Just like you said I'd be able to get!"

Kiba had _never_ had reason to celebrate over his grades. He'd never had reason to rush to _anyone_ and tell them what his markings had been after a school semester. And he'd certainly never had a reason to like school so much.

But for the first time in his life, Kiba went into winter vacation without needing to get reprimanded for sub-par performance in school. And for the first time, he had someone that would be proud of him for actually trying.

"I told you it was possible if you worked for it, Kiba." Hashirama stepped up to ruffle his hair, then turned to smile at his brother. "What do you think, Tobirama? Do you think we should head out and buy some celebratory cake after your wonderful dinner?"

"Cake?!" Kiba and Tsunade gasped at the same time, then turned to look at each other. Only to break out in twin smiles of glee. "Frozen cookie dough cake!"

Hashirama belted out an amused and boisterous laugh at the excitement clear on both their faces then clapped his large hand over Kiba's shoulder. "We'll get the cookie dough cake after dinner then!"

Kiba was caught off guard by the sudden warmth that he felt coming from the large man. It was as if there was a fire within him, one that chased away the winter cold that had seeped into his bone from the run from the school to the house.

But Tobirama was soon closing the door and walking towards the dining room table, effectively bringing Kiba out of his surprised and warm trance. "Well then, if you two want that cake, we should hurry up and eat. I can't stay outside of the office the whole day."

"But you _have_ to, Uncle Tobirama!" Tsunade chirped, "We've got to celebrate the _whole day_!"

The white haired man shook his head at the girl's words, then motioned for them to follow him into the dining room. "How about we eat first? We can discuss what is to be done when we go to get the cake."

There it was again. That odd fluttering feeling that came whenever these three decided to act like a family.

It was a good feeling. Kiba wished he never forgot what it felt like.

..~..~..

Hope you all liked it! Please review!


	5. Chapter 5

Warning(s): Crude language, adult themes, implied incest that isn't even incest because Tobirama does _not_ like his brother _that much_ , forget what others think, conflicting ideas of dysfunctional and functional families... The norm.

* * *

Kiba's winter break was spent normally for Tobirama. The man continued to work as was required of him. And even though he would sometimes hear about a family get together, he'd usually have to skip out to be able to finish up his work hours.

Hashirama had quite the large surprise lined up for Kiba now that he'd managed to raise his grades so spectacularly. Although, from the way that it was so perfectly planned, Tobirama knew that he had begun to prepare for it before he'd found out about the kid's grades.

At one point, he was asked to accompany Hashirama, Tsunade, and Kiba to the zoo. He'd wanted to say no so he could finally wrap up his case, but Tsunade had begged. So the man had decided to allow himself to be dragged to the zoo. And as Kiba and Tsunade had run off to look at all the different animals, Hashirama and he walked at a much more sedate pace.

"I'm going to have a talk with his family. I need their permission to take him out of town."

Tobirama, quite frankly, believed that Kiba's family didn't care if Kiba left and never came back. But he wasn't about to tell that to his brother and possibly ruin a very good day. So instead he just grunted in a noncommittal reply.

"I'm not sure how they'll react. Hana doesn't seem like the nicest of people. And if she's anything like their mother, then I highly doubt they'll allow him to go out of town with two strangers they've never met before."

Far off in the distance, Tobirama could see how Kiba lifted Tsunade up onto his shoulders so she could get a better look at the lion habitat. She was smiling. As was he. It was a rather adorable scene. He still could not believe that Kiba had somehow managed to find a way into their tiny family unit.

"I don't know. With both of our credentials, I think they shouldn't find it too hard to allow him to leave." Tobirama murmured as his red eyes ran over the people that were in the zoo as well.

From the corner of his eye, he could see two women quietly murmuring to each other. Their eyes were going from Kiba and Tsunade over to him and his brother and he immediately knew that no good would come out of their clucking. Although, if they chose to keep to themselves, then there was no reason for him to think ill of them.

"If anything, I would be terrified!" His brother gasped out dramatically, making Tobirama have to work to suppress an eye roll. "Two grown men suddenly decide to take my youngest child out of the town on some vacation I've never heard about? Tobirama, pedophiles exist!"

"I have not forgotten about that, brother." He shook his head softly as he crossed his arms over his chest, giving his brother an unimpressed look. "If they did not want Kiba running around with people they did not know then maybe they should have come to meet us at some point."

It was not as if they had tried to hide their intentions or keep Kiba from going home. The teenager just barely ever wanted to return to his family. And, with a family like the one he had, Tobirama could not blame him. If his own family had been as insane as Kiba's, he would have done his best to stay away from them for as much as possible as he grew up.

And he'd thought Butsuma had been harsh growing up...

Hashirama's frown became pensive after Tobirama said this. But he wasn't able to voice his worries before one of the women that had been whispering walked up to them with a small smile.

"Excuse me? Is that your child?" She asked as she pointed towards Tsunade, immediately getting a nod from Hashirama. "And the boy with her, he looks like a manny? Am I correct?"

"Man... Ny?" Hashirama asked dumbly.

His brother had always been rather dull.

"Yes, one could say that." He answered with disinterest. "What do you want?"

The auburn haired woman seemed taken aback by his rudeness, but Tobirama did not really care. There was going to be something off with whatever this woman said. He was sure of it.

"Well, my partner and I have been looking for someone to be able to take care of our daughter for a while now. And it seems that you two have been able to find someone in this town that doesn't have any trouble with your orientation..."

Tobirama stopped listening at this point.

It was not the first time someone thought that he and Hashirama were an item. Even though they were brothers, people had sometimes confused Hashirama's upbeat and overly touchy way of showing love as more than just platonic. And because they looked so different, he really couldn't blame them. Even though he hated it, he could understand where the mix-up might arise.

But, even if he understood, that did not meant he wanted to listen to any of this.

"Goodbye."

Hashirama would scold him on being rude later on. But he was a forty six year old man. He didn't have to stand around and listen to anyone he didn't want to listen to.

~/~

The woman's name was Tsume. Tsume Inuzuka.

Even though it wasn't common, her husband had taken _her_ last name instead of the other way around. Just like their kids. Which meant that, without a doubt, Kiba lived in a matriarch run family. Which may just explain why he respected all women, no matter the age, without any kind of hesitation, even though he picked fights with a lot of males.

If Tobirama had thought she was _not right_ from her display months ago in front of her home, he thought she was outright _delusional_ after they'd finished up asking for permission to take her son out on a vacation.

"The brat actually managed to get worthwhile grades? Well I'll be damned! And you're sure you want to take him out? He hasn't been harassing you, has he? Hana told me about how he's been over at a neighbor's house, pissin' 'em off."

As the woman had said this, she'd drank a bottle of beer. One that certainly looked nothing like the cheap kind Tobirama was used to seeing being drunk by some of his plaintiffs in recordings that proved their own guilt.

"He's no trouble. Really. Kiba's actually a great help to me. He takes care of my granddaughter, Tsunade, whenever I'm busy." Hashirama kept a steady smile on his face as he spoke to the woman, ever energetic and upbeat.

But Tobirama knew that the man wasn't as happy as he could have been. And, in reality, he wasn't surprised. This woman was crass, rude, bluntly honest, and somewhat scary. She looked as if she could knock out men _twice_ her size. And considering the job she worked in, she most probably had at some point or another.

"Brat's always been good with kids." The woman shrugged softly, then looked both men over once more before she sat up, back straightening. "Listen here, fellas, you _do_ understand how weird this looks, right? Two grown men suddenly approach me about takin' my youngest child out o' town. Two men I've only seen a few times in my life when they're leavin' for wherever they leave in the mornings."

Suddenly her eyes took on a dangerous shine and Tobirama _swore_ she began to smirk like a wolf. "You have _a minute_ to explain to me just who the hell you are and why the fuck I shouldn't call the cops on your ass."

Hashirama proceeded to spew out a thousand different explanations in a speed only he could build up. And after having to show the woman their individual licenses and explain where they worked and how they knew Kiba, Tsume eventually decided to allow Kiba to go along with them on their small vacation.

" _If_ ," She'd raised her hand in a silent motion to stop Hashirama from cheering too quickly, "Hana goes along with you. I'm not stupid, boys. And that's my _only_ boy. Either she goes along or he doesn't go at all."

Hashirama agreed quickly enough. Even though Tobirama wasn't all that pleased with taking the older sister along with them.

The sudden alertness in the woman's eyes made no sense to him. How could someone treat someone they loved so odiously? How could a mother possibly distrust so much of one child, yet hold another in the highest of pedestals?

His own upbringing had not been easy. His father had been a military man that had just about crushed all wishes to be different within all of his sons. But, even with his difficulty to show love, he'd managed to do so. He'd never laid a hand on them except to help them. And never out of anger, but out of a wish to discipline. The one to receive the most hits had been Hashirama, and, even then, they had only been very few. No more than ten in his whole, rebellious life.

Tobirama had only been hit once by his father. And that had been when he'd spoken up on Hashirama's behalf after

~/~

When Tobirama had an actual conversation with Hana and her girlfriend, Mei, he decided that this family was too odd to believe.

"No, but seriously, I love the little idiot. Why do you think I agreed to come along?" Hana smiled softly as she craned her neck to watch Kiba carrying Tsunade on his shoulders.

Even though Tobirama had told them that the young girl should not be playing violent video games, Hashirama had allowed Kiba and her to play the arcade game, _Break in Time_. It was a simple shooter game with barely any bloody graphics, but Tobirama was still opposed to allowing his grandniece to play the game. Hashirama, though, had found no harm in allowing the child to play.

The blonde had the blue gun in her hands, happily shooting at both screens without a single thought as to how the game was supposed to be played. And Kiba was pulling a double duty on the pedals for the reloading of the guns, not at all bothered with having to use the pink gun or basically playing by himself. To be the only one playing correctly, though, he was doing pretty well.

"He's a good uncle. Sometimes I think that our genes were mixed up and he got all the mothering ones." The young woman's words were spoken lightly, although Tobirama could see that they weighed heavily on her. "I'm not good for the whole mothering thing. I tried once. But Kiba did a better job at it than me."

"Right..." Hashirama murmured quietly, eyes soft and sympathetic. "Kiba told me of his niece... Her father is the one that takes care of her now, right?"

The young woman swallowed in an almost strained manner. And her girlfriend wrapped her left arm around her shoulders, as if trying to offer some kind of physical comfort.

"That Genma bastard..." The auburn haired woman growled, only for Hana to shake her head.

"He was right to take Tenbin away. My little star would not have been able to shine brightly if she was left with me and my family to raise. You're aware of that, Mei." Hana looked at her girlfriend with a sad glint in her eyes and an almost rueful smile on her lips. "We Inuzuka are insane. It's good for her to be raised as a Shiranui."

Mei's only visible green eye narrowed in unrestricted anger. "Your family is fine, Hana. You don't have a father that tried to rape you or an addict of a mother that sold everything of value in your house to pay for her drugs."

The whisper was harsh and not meant for either Hashirama or Tobirama to hear. But the white haired had heard it. And he began to worry about the kind of background Mei Terumī came from.

"Mei..." Hana's face softened considerably, only for Mei's to harshen.

It was at this point that Tobirama knew that, no matter how harsh Kiba's family might be, there were even worse families out there. And that was a fact that almost shattered his heart.

"I'm going to go ask Tsunade what she wishes to do today." He pushed his the comfortable chair he had been seated on back all the while he made sure to avoid eye contact with either woman.

Hashirama looked up at him in confusion, but didn't question his brother's sudden movements. Instead he nodded stiffly and got up as well, then offered a small smile to the women.

"If you wish, you could have a day to yourselves. We'll take care of Tsunade and Kiba."

Tobirama walked off before he heard either of the women answer. And he walked up to the youngest of the group right when Tsunade lost her last life, which had been one that Kiba and her had desperately tried to keep.

When Kiba turned to look at him, he smiled. But then his eyes drifted over to his sister and girlfriend, seemed to analyze the situation, and the teenager began to frown.

"You guys talked to her 'bout her kid, didn't you?" He asked, a bite Tobirama wasn't expecting to be in his voice catching the man off guard. "They always get depressed when they talk 'bout that."

Tsunade, who was still perched on the teenager's shoulders, craned her neck to look into his eyes curiously. It wasn't safe for her to be leaning forward so haphazardly, but Kiba's hands were holding onto her legs rather securely. And Tobirama moved so he could stand directly in front of both of them, just in case the worst happened.

"What's wrong with her kid? Did Hana have a baby? Why haven't I met her yet?"

"Tsunade." Tobirama cleared his throat, grabbing the child's attention. "This is a matter for the adults."

"But Kiba's not an adult!" The blonde huffed, sitting back down in a position that made the man worry _less_ about her stability. "He's a kid like me."

"Not in this case, kiddo." Hashirama spoke up as he appeared behind his brother, clapping a large hand over his shoulder. "We'll talk about this when you're older. But for now, you're going to stay an innocent, wonderful, little child." With these words, the long haired male ruffled Tsunade's hair, which in turn made her shake her head and stick her tongue out at her grandfather. "Hana and Mei have opted for staying in the hotel for the day. We can do whatever we wish to today."

Tobirama knew he should have felt somewhat bad for feeling relieved to not have to spend a day with the women. But he wasn't about to lie to himself. Just because someone had lived a hard life, they didn't have a right to make someone else's life a living hell.

Mei and Hana undoubtedly had a difficult time growing up. But they had no right to continue making Kiba's own life terrible.

"How about we go to that museum we passed by on the way here? The one with the art and history stuff?" Tsunade questioned, grabbing Kiba's head to force him to look her in the eyes once more. "We can go and see some of the historical stuff and make fun of old people."

"Tsunade!" Tobirama huffed in a soft scold, only to roll his eyes at the hearty laugh that erupted from Hashirama.

Disciplining this child was near impossible with the likes of Kiba and Hashirama around.

"That sounds like a plan, Tsunade."

~/~

To Tobirama it seemed as if Kiba enjoyed spending time with the man's family much more than with his own. And with the way Hana treated him, the man could not fault the teen. Even though Hana was a thousand times more polite than either her mother or brother, she was still rather crude. And extremely honest, although he now chalked that up to just being an Inuzuka trait.

That wasn't the problem, though. It was her lack of filter that trouble the Senju.

"Sis, _please_."

"Oh, hush up, little brother. Tsunade wants to hear all about your days of dressing up as a girl and putting on mom's lipstick!"

"I do!"

If not for the fact that Tsunade didn't _understand_ why this was embarrassing for the teenager, Tobirama would have silenced Hana in the harshest, most legal way he could think of. He had remained silent, though, in hopes that the young woman would be able to stop on her own.

Hashirama and Mei were both out picking up the pizza they had decided to order on their day at the little theme park Tsunade had wished to visit. So Hashirama wasn't around to be able to play peacekeeper like he had been doing for the past two days. Which left Tobirama in a very precarious spot because he knew better than to insult the young woman but still wanted her to stop bothering the teen.

The conversation had begun to sour when Hana had made an offhanded comment about Kiba being the girliest male she knew. And it devolved further when Tsunade had, innocently, asked why the woman thought this.

Now Kiba had unshed tears in his eyes as he begged his sister to just _stop_.

He could not stand for this. He could not allow a woman of twenty four years of age to belittle a sixteen year old teenager for things he had done as a child. It was not right and spoke of a level immaturity that truly boggled him.

"Hana-"

He was going to interrupt the young woman and stop her from retelling her story. But before he could even make out a word that wasn't her name, Kiba was pushing off from the table and running away from their table.

He rushed past a stunned Hashirama, even though Mei didn't seem too surprised with seeing the teen running off. And she continued walking up to the table with a disinterested look on her face.

"He really needs to learn how to deal with people talking shit about him." The green eyed woman rolled her eyes as she placed a tray of drinks down on the table, "Got your lemonade, babe."

Tobirama could _not_ believe the level of apathy this woman had for the teenager. And he wasn't going to stand for it.

"There is a child here." He hissed, catching both of the women's attention. "You will _not_ swear in front of her." With this unspoken threat, he stood up and began to walk off. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to make sure _your_ little brother is alright."

As he walked off, he saw Hashirama nodding softly at him with a concerned frown on his face. And Tobirama could not blame him for worrying. Kiba had never seemed like the kind to be easily affected. He took a lot of things easily and barely tried to argue. He didn't deserve all of the shit he'd been handed over his life.

Finding the teen wasn't too difficult. Even though there were dozens of different places to hide in, the teenager hadn't strayed too far from the small eatery they had chosen to dine in.

Tobirama guessed that this was because he didn't want to make either of the Senju brothers annoyed. And this bothered the man.

Tsunade had wanted to go to the child section of the park and they had indulged her without too much hesitation. Which was the reason why Kiba was currently seated on a stupidly pink bench as he tried to keep himself from crying out loud.

He didn't say anything as he walked up to the teenager. He didn't have anything he could say that would sound _genuine_. He wasn't good at giving verbal comfort. That was Hashirama's gift. So all he did was sit down beside the teen and allowed him to just cry.

After a few minutes of silence that was only broken by the soft screams of a far area from the park and Kiba's sniffled sobs, Tobirama felt the teen's arms wrapping around his waist. And even though he wasn't the best at being kind, the man allowed the teen to hug him. And he wrapped an arm around the kid's shoulders to try and make him know that he was there for him.

"She just doesn't get it..." The teen sniffled softly, burying his face into Tobirama's side.

The man didn't say anything. He just rubbed at the teen's arm and allowed him to cry.

Maybe, in their own delusional ways, Hana and Tsume cared about Kiba. But they sure as hell had _no idea_ how to show that care.

..~..~..

And here is the new chapter! Please don't forget to review!


	6. Chapter 6

Warning(s): Harsh words, small crush that's not part of the main pairings (because I couldn't stop myself, sorry), and angsty Kiba. Not by much, though. The angst is very much toned down.

* * *

Tobirama thought that he could make the track team. Hashirama told him that as long as he trained, he'd undoubtedly get into the team on his junior year. And Tsunade just wanted to have an excuse to go to sporting events because Tobirama refused to go to them and all of her grandfather's were for universities and she found that boring for some reason.

Tsunade was an odd little girl. But she was adorable and intelligent. Kiba knew she'd get far in life with the way Tobirama and Hashirama were guiding her onto the correct path.

When he returned to school for the second semester, Kiba didn't feel as if he'd changed at all. He was still the same guy as before. Even though he now had three people in his life that seemed to care about him who didn't insult him every five seconds.

His teachers, though, thought he had changed for some reason. They didn't glare at him as much anymore. Just stared at him with this kind of inspection and analytic eye that made him feel as if he were some kind of mare on auction. He liked that phrase. He'd heard it on one of Tsunade's shows.

The students weren't any different. Just the teachers. As if they were able to see something inside of Kiba that he had no idea he held.

Well, that was a lie. Most of the students were the same. But Hinata hung out with him even more and asked him to go out with her with much more frequency. And because they saw him hanging around the girl, some of her other friends decided to start gravitating towards him as well. Not in friendship. But in a reluctant kind of acquaintanceship that only came from loving Hinata too much.

It was weird. But Kiba was sure that they saw him as a kind of 'fix up' project. They were always trying to get

him to try on new, much more colorful clothes.

It took him months to get into another fight. Which sucked, because it happened to fall on the same day that Hashirama had promised to take him and Tsunade out for their extremely good behavior until then.

"Because my _father_ and I love to go fishing! He's a really good dad, you see. Even though he's not my biological father, he's great!"

Kiba _despised_ Rock Lee with all of his heart. The bastard didn't know when to shut up. And he constantly talked about his perfect family life in front Kiba, taunting the Inuzuka.

His broken family was not a secret. There was no need to keep it a secret. But there was also no need for this son of a bitch to constantly remind him of it.

"Listen here, you sorry _cunt_." Kiba hissed as he grabbed onto Lee's shirt, glaring into the slightly taller teen's eyes. "You and I are going to settle this once and for all."

"Settle what, exactly?" Lee asked in mock curiosity, eyes blazing in defiance. "The fact that you'll never have a father that loves you?"

Rock Lee was a coward. He constantly picked fights with Kiba but then acted as if he were the innocent party. Whenever teachers talked to him, he insisted that he had no idea just why Kiba hated him so much. But the little bitch knew.

Kiba's fist tightened so harshly that he swore his nails would break skin. But he restrained himself from clocking the bastard right then and there because he didn't want to get expelled from school.

"You and me. Eight o'clock today. Back lot of the Kiri Market."

The dark haired gremlin had the gall to smirk at Kiba. And it took the Inuzuka _all_ of his willpower to keep from punching that stupid smirk off of his face.

"See you there, Dog Breath."

~/~

Hinata didn't want him to fight. She insisted that Rock Lee had formal training, he could kill Kiba easily with his mastery of the martial arts.

Naruto just wanted to see the fight. He thought it'd be interesting to see both clashing fighting styles going up against one another. Because while Rock Lee was formally trained, Kiba was _informally_ trained. The streets had taught the Inuzuka how to fight to survive.

Shino only went along because he was the only person smart enough to bring a first aid kit in case anyone went too far. He didn't want to be anywhere near the fighting, but refused to allow Kiba to get his ass kicked without having the proper medical aid nearby.

Kiba had a good feeling about the fight, though. It was in this secluded parking lot in the back of a small, kind of seedy market that the kids in the high school only knew about because of their inclination to forget about age with the right amount of money. There were no surveillance cameras that worked, they were only for show, and the owners didn't give a damn about what happened as long as it stayed outside of his market.

He _knew_ how to fight on the streets. That is how he had grown up: scrapping against people much bigger than him to make sure that he _belonged_ somewhere. He wasn't afforded the kind of luxury of not giving it his all. Every time he had fought, it had been to 110 percent. And if ever he gave any less, he had wound up with his ass kicked and his body a dozen different shades of black and blue.

When they got to the lot, it was to find Rock Lee wearing a sort of green full body suit. He was jumping around as if he were the star in a kung fu movie. And behind him were his only friends, Neji and Tenten.

When those two saw Kiba's own friends, they were stricken by surprise. Most probably because they didn't expect to see Neji's cousin hanging around the school ruffian. But why they were so surprised, Kiba would never understand. There was undoubtedly talk all along the school about Hinata and his friendship.

"Hinata? What are you doing here?"

"She's here to make sure I don't kill Lee." Kiba barked back at the Hyuga to shut him up as quickly as possible, then turned to the still jumping Lee. "Are you ready to get your ass kicked?"

The kid in the green clad monstrosity actually _laughed_ at Kiba. And that's when the Inuzuka decided that he'd had enough.

Quickly, Kiba shrugged off his jacket and stretched his arms out. His clothes weren't designed for fighting like Lee's own. But his arms weren't covered in cloth and his pants were loose enough. He knew how to maneuver under these conditions.

With his eyes narrowed and his lips in a scowl, the teenager stepped forward. And soon enough he and Rock Lee were circling one another.

The bowl haired kid was moving in a way that read of surety and analyses. He was most probably waiting for Kiba to make the first move so he could counter. And he was undoubtedly expecting a quick victory.

But this wouldn't be the first kung fu fairy Kiba had ever fought. And he wasn't about to fall into his 'trap'. Because it certainly wasn't if Kiba could read it so clearly.

"Come on, Dog Breath! Why won't you fight me?"

Kiba's scowl became an outright glare at the taunting coming from Lee. And just when he was about to move to strike, deciding to forget any kind of waiting to just kick the crap out of this bitch, he heard a sudden shout.

"Stop! Don't fight!"

Kiba was surprised by the sudden shout. It was a female's. And because of years of always paying attention to what the women around him shouted at him, Kiba turned his face to look to where the shout had come from.

He never saw the attack coming. He was too focused on the blonde teenager running towards them with blue eyes widened in fear.

Suddenly, before he could truly take note of what was going on, a fist connected with the side of his head. And in a quick succession, he found an arm wrapping around his neck and pulling him into Lee's body.

The bastard was trying to choke him!

With a growl of frustration and anger, Kiba tensed up his body, grabbed the arm around his neck with both his hands, and began to formulate a plan. Faintly, he noted a new touch by his right side. But he didn't think much of it, for that was most probably Lee trying to pull another trick.

As quickly as a snake strike, Kiba pulled his right arm back with as much force as he could to elbow the bastard. But the scream he heard wasn't the one he thought it would be. Instead, it was female.

Both he and Lee froze at the same time. And when Kiba turned to look at who he had hit, he felt his heard drop.

Ino was clutching at her face with both hands.

"Ino! Shit, I'm so sorry!" Kiba immediately moved to run towards the girl, already feeling guilt and disgust beginning to well up inside of him for having hit a girl.

Lee's arms dropped from around him as soon as Kiba began to move, apparently being smart enough to know that he'd gone too far.

But right when Kiba was about to reach Ino, the girl's hands flew away from her face to reveal a reddened and teary right eye. "God dammit, you dumbasses! What the hell do you think you're doing?! Do you _want_ to get expelled?!"

Kiba's worry immediately stopped. And it only became guilt and regret when Ino went on a huge tangent about the trouble they would get into if Principal Morino found out about this out of school fight.

He'd never felt more like _shit_ before. But he'd hit a girl. All because he'd allowed Lee to get the better of him...

Fuck... He _was_ a screw up...

~/~

After he'd accidentally hit Ino, Kiba didn't want to face either Tobirama or Hashirama. He just _knew_ that they would know what he'd done. He didn't know how. But he was pretty fucking sure that both men would know about his major screw up no matter what.

So he went back to wandering around the streets for a while. He didn't visit the usual places he would have gone, like that one dilapidated bowling alley where all the junkies hung around so he could try and steal some of their shit to sell forward. And he didn't go to that skate park where all the stoners went to trade beers and stories. He didn't _want_ to go back to his old life. But he couldn't face the new one either. So... He just _walked_.

Akamaru accompanied him quietly, offering a silent kind of comfort that only he could give.

Dogs were usually better than humans. Dogs didn't question motives. They didn't ridicule for wrong decisions. They just loved and understood... They were a thousand times better than some of the humans Kiba had ever met.

As he walked past an abandoned laundromat on the edge of the city for what seemed like the tenth time, Kiba heard his name being called. And when he turned to look inside, he found his old partner in crime, Hidan, heading his way.

Hidan used to run around with him and his sister a couple of years ago. Along with him and a few other delinquents, Kiba and Hana had 'run' their area as the Wolf Pack. But one by one they had all left without a single trace, meaning that their Wolf Pack had eventually become a duo. Then Hana had gotten pregnant and only Kiba had been left... And he'd become the lone wolf he still saw himself as.

"Fuck! It's good to see you again, you stupid son of a bitch!" Hidan smirked almost evilly as he threw his arms out to hug Kiba.

And even though Kiba had no idea how to react to suddenly seeing this man again, he allowed himself to be hugged. Akamaru sat down a few feet away from both humans to _look_ at them, as if silently wondering if he should attack Hidan or just stay put.

"It's been a while..." Kiba murmured quietly against the elder's chest, dumbly raising his right arm to pat at the silver haired man's shoulder.

If he remembered correctly, Hidan was about a year or two younger than Hana. So he had to already be in college... If he'd chosen that path, of course... Maybe he'd ended up becoming a priest like he had always raved on about doing when they had been younger.

"When I heard you and the bitches had moved away I thought I'd never see you again, mutt." Hidan pulled away to look Kiba over, then nodded to himself. "At least you're not starving anymore."

"Hey! I was just a scrawny kid... I didn't _starve_."

Hidan rolled his eyes and ruffled Kiba's hair, making the teen move away and slap his hands away.

It was such a familiar feeling... And just like it had so many years ago, Kiba felt his heart flutter at Hidan's touch.

"Whatever, mutt." Hidan rolled his own eyes, then moved so he wrapped an arm around the teen's shoulders. "Why don't you and I head on over to that one restaurant you loved so much? You know, the five star one with all the greasy burgers and soggy fries?"

It made no sense to feel so _okay_ with Hidan. But Kiba felt just like he had years ago, before Hana had gotten pregnant and all of his friends had left. He felt _good_.

"Oh, you mean the one where you shit your pant-"

"Shh." Hidan interrupted immediately by covering Kiba's mouth up, then smiled down at him. "Let us go down to the fuckingly amazing shit hole then."

Kiba's heart began to beat loudly just like it used to do back when they had been children and still ran around as if they were in control of the streets they lived in. But he didn't really think much about it, just like he hadn't back when he'd been a kid.

~/~

Oddly enough, Tobirama and Hashirama didn't tell him anything about the fight. If they knew, they'd remained quiet about it. Because Kiba found it hard to believe, in a childish sort of way, that they hadn't heard about the fight _at all_. He was sure they had. But they'd just chosen to keep quiet after he'd ended up groveling at Ino's feet to get her to forgive him.

But they did question him as to why he had decided to go back to hanging around a lot by the 'bad side' of town. To which he answered that he'd found an old friend that he wanted to visit.

Hashirama had smiled at the prospect of meeting one of his friends and asked him to invite Hidan over.

Tobirama had just frowned.

So Kiba and Hidan one day wound up accompanying the small Senju family to a little picnic that Jiraiya's parents had set up.

At first Hidan didn't feel like going. He'd never been one for family. Being an orphan adopted by a surly old man that was (apparently) not in the picture anymore hadn't helped him grow any kind of fondness for family activities. But he'd ended up deciding to go when Kiba had told him that there would be free food. Because if there was anything all college students loved (because he was currently attending college, a second year), it was free food.

The older male was awkward around kids. Even as a child, he'd been bad at dealing with people younger than him. But he didn't have to deal too much with Tsunade, so Hidan didn't screw up too badly. Just a little by cursing in front of her. But that was a mistake that was quickly rectified by Tobirama scowling at him and warning the young girl off from ever repeating the word.

As Tsunade ran around with her white haired friend and a black haired kid Kiba could faintly remember having seen before, the rest of their small group sat on top of a picnic table. Hidan was munching on some of the little sandwiches he had snagged from Jiraiya's mother as he answered some of Hashirama's questions.

"I'm studying criminology."

"Really? Why's that?"

For a second, Hidan seized up and his whole composure became strained. But soon enough he relaxed his body and gave a noncommittal shrug of his shoulders. "Only thing I found interesting..."

Kiba immediately knew that this was a lie. They hadn't talked about what he was studying, but Kiba _knew_ that if Hidan was trying to end up working in a field like this, then he had a real reason for studying it. A personal one. But Hidan had always been the kind to shy away from talking about his own life most of the time, so he was also aware that the older male wasn't the kind to talk if pushed.

They'd just have to wait and see if he ever told them the truth.

"Alright..." Hashirama murmured after a few seconds of Hidan munching away at his food, then turned to Kiba, "Have you finally decided to allow Tobirama to train you for next year?"

"Yeah." Kiba nodded, "And, yeah. If you guys think I'd be good at running, I can train or whatever."

Tobirama huffed softly from beside Hashirama as he crossed his arms over his chest, "Then you will have to start as soon as possible. And we shall be meeting during the early morning so that this does not interrupt with my job."

Tobirama, Kiba had found out, was a kind of grumpy man. Even when things went his way, he didn't seem all that happy. But Kiba didn't mind that too much. His mom was just the same.

"Sure thing, old man."

..~..~..

Hope you all liked this brand new chapter!


	7. Chapter 7

Warning(s): Angsty backstory and implied underage drinking. That is all.

* * *

In the very beginning, Tobirama assigned Kiba for Saturday morning training.

It was only one day a week that he would not go into his office in the very mornings and he could afford such a schedule. And Kiba himself found no complications within his own schedule to use his Saturday mornings for physical training.

At first, Kiba struggled to keep up with the grueling program Tobirama established. This did not surprise the man at all, seeing how he had expected complications to arise as soon as he showed Kiba just how truly serious he was about getting him into the track team.

He may have always found complications in his life when it came to outside sports because of his skin condition, but that had never stopped him from keeping a strict workout regime that still kept him in pique physical condition. He may not have been able to run around in the sun like others, but he did everything he could to be able to exercise underneath a sturdy ceiling.

Midway through their first month, Tobirama had fully expected for Kiba to call it quits, call him a drill sergeant, and promise to hate him for the rest of his life. And he would have perfectly understood this, seeing how he had done his best to try and break the teenager within the first month.

He wasn't being so harsh out of spite. Not at all. He was being harsh because he needed Kiba to know that there wouldn't be anything about him joining the track team. He needed to understand from the very beginning that he would not get cut any slack and he would not be receiving any sympathy- not from Tobirama.

But something happened to Kiba in between the night before their fourth practice in the month- a night in which he had seemed to be ruled over by doom and gloom and lack of enthusiasm- and the following morning.

The kid had not run that fast in the whole time Tobirama had been training him… And the man had found himself feeling somewhat cheated.

But, at the same time, he was proud.

Kiba understood the difficulties that would come from their continued practices. And he was clearly prepared to face them head on.

"Monday night. Be here at eight sharp. Have I been understood?"

Kiba had been busy panting like one of those dogs he loved so much after he had finished up the last lap Tobirama had assigned him to do. And the man had fully expected to have to repeat himself because the teenager had not managed to hear him over the sounds of his own mouth.

But then something unexpected happened.

Tobirama found himself with a sweaty, out of breath, yet completely elated teenager wrapped up in his arms, panting out huffed "Thank you!"s and "I won't let you down, Tobirama!"s.

Awkwardly, he patted at the kid's back, feeling both disgusted at the sweat that was soaking into his clothes yet happy to find the kid so happy and excited to continue their practices.

"Whatever… Just get off of me and go take a shower." Tobirama managed to push Kiba away with a bit of force, only to find him grinning like a complete fool.

Kiba was an oddity Tobirama would never have expected him to be in the beginning. And, really, he was happy about this. He was happy that his initial judgment about him had been completely wrong.

Kiba Inuzuka was a good kid.

He wouldn't have expected that in a million years from just their first meeting.

~/~

"Oh, no, I can't hang out with you guys today. I've got to get home before Hana does if I don't want to get locked out by her."

Tobirama was out of town on some kind of business trip or something and he didn't want to bother Hashirama because the man really needed some rest and relaxation after all the stress he'd been under now that he actually had to get serious over sending Tsunade to an actual school instead of just home schooling.

Hidan could house him, he guessed… But he didn't want to bother his old friend. College had started up for him yet again and he was actually trying to make something out of himself; which meant that he needed to get grades rather than just parade around and have fun.

Summer was gone and his training with Tobirama was put on a small hiatus because of the business trip he had to go on. The fall semester had already begun, but there still wasn't enough work for them to complete for them to have to lose their weekends doing projects. So he'd been invited to hang out with Hinata, Neji, and Tenten.

He didn't mind Neji… _Too much_.

But his friends still made sure that he and Rock Lee never crossed paths.

Not like he'd do anything to the little shit… He didn't think he would be able to handle another scolding from Hashirama and Tobirama if he managed to get into another fight with the lowlife.

Look at that: avoiding fights to keep the Senju brothers happy. Wasn't he an upstanding citizen?

"Lock you out?" Tenten parroted, her eyes widening immediately. "You can't be serious. Nobody'd lock their little brother out of the house just because he stayed up too late."

"Oh, you don't know my sister." Kiba smiled softly, even though he wasn't able to keep bitterness from slipping into his words.

Hidan said that this was the biggest change he didn't know how to deal with. And, quite frankly, Kiba only knew how to handle it because he did his best to avoid all kinds of confrontations with his sister- no matter what.

They'd never had a _great_ relationship. He and Hana had fought like cats and dogs when they were kids. But Kiba had once admired his sister.

He didn't admire her anymore. All he did was avoid her at all costs.

"Still… Locking you out in the middle of the night… It's excessive." Neji added his own cents, only to have Hinata nod beside him.

"Not even Uncle Hizashi threatens Neji with that… And he's _really_ strict."

Kiba wanted to scoff bitterly at them.

These three… They had _good_ families. They had the kind of families that would be able to send them to college once they got the scholarships they deserved for their stellar records. They had the kind of families that would send them to a good college even if they weren't able to get their scholarships… They had the kind of families that would make sure he didn't have to suffer through injuries without going to the hospital because 'it builds character'… They had the kinds of families that wouldn't kick them out in the middle of the night because a bratty sibling swore they had smelled marijuana in their rooms.

They lived good lives.

He didn't.

It was just the way the world worked.

Sighing softly, Kiba glanced down at the lunch Hashirama had given him before he'd left for school.

Even as swamped and overworked as he was, Hashirama Senju still found a way to get up before he had to leave for school so he could pack and deliver him a proper lunch.

Even with Tsunade becoming a fussy child that was too much like a teenager sometimes and overbearing bosses that needed to get with the times to avoid a full on revolution in the university he taught in, Hashirama still found a way to make his day better.

Well… His life was pretty bad… But at least he had the Senju family.

"That's just the way the cookie crumbles. I could maybe hang out with you next week, though. Tobirama will be back from his business trip so I'll have a place to crash in."

Hinata frowned in that way that _always_ sent a pang of regret shooting through his heart.

But Kiba did his best to ignore her as he took a bite out of his delicious, meat laden sandwich.

When Hana had been a snooty pre-teen- no more than twelve, maybe- and he'd still been too young to man a stove, their parents had asked her to make sure he was fed before he went to bed.

Like eight year olds were prone to do, Kiba had run amok in the neighborhood and made sure to do everything possible to avoid going back home. By the time he _had_ returned, though, he had been hungry and prepared for a good meal.

There had been nothing waiting for him. Not even in the fridge.

When he'd sought Hana out in her room, he hadn't found her.

So he'd served himself some milk, cried a couple of tears, then waited in his bed for his parents to come back.

Both of them had been enraged. His mother more than his father because she had been the one to leave Hana with the orders. So they'd made a big show of pulling her out of the party she had been in and scolded her in front of all of her friends for having abandoned her little brother in such a cold manner.

Sighing softly, Kiba blinked quickly to cease the stinging in his eyes.

His friends were talking amongst each other again, apparently ignorant to how quiet he suddenly became.

He wasn't sure if this was the night his sister began to hate him. But he _was_ sure that nothing was ever the same after that.

His sister still hated his guts, after all. Even after almost a whole decade.

~/~

Kiba staying the night wasn't odd anymore.

The teenager spent more time outside of his home than he did _inside_.

Tobirama still had no idea just how in the world Tsume Inuzuka had managed to keep custody of both of her children with the way she ran her household. She must have bribed some social workers, given sob stories to countless police officers, maybe she had even claimed abusive husband and bratty children at some point. Because there was no way that she had never encountered any kind of challenge because of how she chose to raise her kids.

The Senju had always been firm believers of 'spoil the child, hurt the child'. They believed that a child should be called out when necessary to keep them from becoming self-entitled and useless as members of society.

But what he had seen Tsume say to Kiba whenever she refused to listen to him and instead only paid attention to her daughter… Well, Tobirama genuinely believed that she must be delusional to some degree.

It was because of Tsume's harsh- almost borderline abusive- parenting that Tobirama never denied Kiba entry to his home.

Like tonight.

He had been spending a quiet evening reading up on a case he was supposed to present in court the following day when he was pulled out of his reading by a swift knock to his front door.

When he'd opened it, he had found Kiba standing in regular clothes with a bag over one shoulder, his hand closed tightly around Akamaru's leash.

The dog had been busying himself by sniffing at the bushes nestled between Tobirama's front door and his home's outer wall.

"Hey, there's a party tonight. I was wondering if I could go and then spend the night here?"

The request was new. But it didn't really catch Tobirama by surprise.

Not much caught him by surprise if it dealt with the true depravation Kiba had to deal with because of his family.

He glanced at the clock behind him to find that it was only six in the afternoon. It wasn't particularly late- if anything, it had been rather early for a teenage party.

"Why? Did your mom kick you out of your house again?"

"Nah." Kiba shrugged as he offered a small smile. Tobirama was able to see the sadness he tried to hide with it. His blood began to boil. "Sis is staying the night, though, and Mei too. If I'm not back in the house before ten, they usually lock me out. And this party's supposed to go until at least midnight."

Tobirama frowned when he heard the sister's name.

Then he stepped aside and motioned for Kiba and Akamaru to walk into his house.

"And at what time would you be returning from the party?"

"Wait, I have to give you a time?"

Tobirama rolled his eyes at how utterly surprised Kiba sounded.

"If you wish to stay here, yes."

The teenager blinked at him, looked down at his dog, then looked back up at him. He looked unbelievably confused and taken aback.

How could Kiba still not understand the need for curfews?

"Uh… Three in the morning?"

It was almost cute how utterly clueless he was.

"Too late."

"Two thirty in the morning?"

Tobirama merely stared at him with an unimpressed look on his face.

Kiba pursed his lips, then tried, " _Two_ in the morning?"

Now Tobirama smirked. He couldn't help himself. It was just amusing. "Twelve thirty. And if you're not here by twelve forty, I _will_ go out to look for you."

"Wha- _seriously_?"

Tobirama had been prepared for an argument.

He had _not_ been prepared to hear Kiba sound so surprised.

"Of course I'm serious. How long have we known each other now, Kiba? You know I don't mess around."

"Yeah, I know… S'just…" He shrugged and looked down at the floor, all the while he thrust his hands into his pants' pockets.

Those had been bought by Hashirama. They were lacking holes and tears.

That jacket had been a gift from both brothers.

How could Kiba seriously still be surprised when they let him know that they actually cared about his well being?

"So, I'm allowed to go?"

"Whose party is it?"

"This chick named Karui. She's Chouji's girlfriend."

Tobirama looked at Kiba with a deadpan glare. "And who is Chouji?"

"Shikamaru's friend."

Kiba seemed suddenly rather chipper.

"And who is Shikamaru?"

"Ino's friend."

"…" Tobirama frowned, crossed his arms over his chest, closed his eyes, and _sighed_.

He couldn't see Kiba's broad smile. But he knew the exact expression the teenager was wearing.

"Hinata invited me. And, come on, if Hiashi is letting his little princess go, then you know there's nothing wrong with me going."

Kid had a point.

"You are insufferable…"

"Big word. Are ya proud I know what it means?"

This kid would be the death of him…

~/~

When they arrived at the party, it was for Hinata to immediately be scooped into a large hug by Ino.

Neji and Tenten were received in a similar manner by Ino's friends, Shikamaru and Chouji.

He shuffled awkwardly in the doorway, trying to seem busy by staring at the decorations that had been strung around the two-story house rather than waiting around for someone to notice him.

A dark skinned chick with dark red hair walked up to him with an almost wicked look in her bright eyes.

"I'm guessing you're the tattooed brat that Ino had to kick the crap out of?"

"Karui!"

Ino appeared beside them in a flash, glaring at the other girl while Kiba regretted having accepted the invitation to come.

He'd never bothered with parties before. Not because he didn't like the idea of them- dancing around, having fun, and acting like complete fools? Sign him up! No, he hadn't gone to parties simply because he didn't want to fall into the same crowd his sister had. The lone wolf act had worked well enough for him. And lone wolves _did not_ go to teenage parties.

But now that he had friends… Well, he had friends that _invited_ him places.

It was still weird… People that wanted to hang out with him without needing him to give them something in return… It was a nice change, though.

He was sure that he wouldn't have felt as awkward in a party thrown by somebody from his old school. But everyone in this school was still kind of wary and weird when it came to him… So he felt like a complete outcast sometimes, even though he managed to make some- he thought- solid friends.

"What? I'm just messing with him." Karui smiled at him then motioned for him to follow her. "Welcome to my lovely abode. Drinks are in the kitchen, second floor bedrooms are off-limits and locked, and the pool is right outside. Skinny dipping is only allowed after ten and three tequila shots."

He would _not_ be doing that.

Even though Tobirama hadn't told him he couldn't drink, he had the feeling that the man wouldn't appreciate him taking part in an activity that was illegal for his age.

"Uh… Thanks…"

The girl led him through the dancefloor already filled with too many people, past a lounge where four people were playing some racing game and had a rather large crowd cheering and jeering, and directly into the kitchen.

A couple of seconds after she pushed a red cup into his hands, the Hinata and Neji arrived.

"I'm completely stunned you three came." Karui admitted as she served three more drinks, having to raise her voice so she could be heard through the booming bass of the music that rattled the house's foundations. "The Hyuga Cousins and Mr. Juvvie? I never would have expected it."

She gave two cups to the cousins, grabbed her own, and pushed her right hand towards Hinata, Neji, and Kiba with a broad smile.

"To a night we'll never remember, yeah?"

~..~..~

Please review!


	8. Chapter 8

Warning(s): Same as always, really. And some (a lot of) suspense. Aside from that, everything's pretty normal.

* * *

"And the clock strikes midnight! Skinny dipping time, bitches! Time for our youth to burn bright!"

Even buzzed and mildly prone to only happiness, Kiba couldn't help but hate Rock Lee.

As soon as he heard the scream, he walked away from the pool and back into the house. Not only did he _not_ want to get a look at the idiot's birthday suit, he didn't want to get hosed with the other drunken idiots that would undoubtedly jump into the pool after him.

Besides, it was midnight. It was about time he started to head out if he wanted to reach Tobirama's home before his extremely new curfew hit.

An actual curfew... He'd never had one of those before... Well, no, he had, back when he had still been too young to fend for himself and his mother had still shown an ounce of caring after him. But, recently now, his mother had not given many shits. Only his sister had enforced a sort of curfew, but it had only been out of her own selfish desires, not out of care for him. But it really didn't even count as a curfew, just a limit of time to return to their house unless he wanted to get locked out.

Tobirama was a weird guy. Just like his brother... Kiba actually kind of appreciated that, though.

A rush of stumbling and much too loud drunkards stampeded past him as Karui's skinny dipping requirements were met, which, really, Kiba had not expected to see so many so eager to do such a thing. Besides, he had thought they would have started to skinny dip as soon as someone got too drunk by around eight or nine pm. It was rather interesting how they had managed to hold off of the one thing they had seemed to have been waiting a whole night for until the requirements were met.

Kiba struggled to not get pushed back to the pool because of the crowd, but eventually he managed to reach the kitchen, where he found the host and hostess of the party looking at each other with stupid gushy eyes that made him want to gag.

He decided to bid adieu before he died from diabetes because of the sweetness overdose the scene was.

"Yo! Thanks for the party. But I'm heading out."

Ah, that seemed to have broken the love at first sight spell they had fallen for. Karui and Chouji looked over at him, looking kind of saddened, if Kiba was being honest with himself. But that didn't make any sense... They literally only got to know him tonight.

"So early? They only _just_ started to make complete fools of themselves." Karui pouted, even though there was clear amusement sparkling within her eyes. "Wait a bit more and I assure you someone will start giving someone else a lap dance."

For some reason, Kiba imagine Rock Lee trying to give some girl a lap dance- Ino, regrettably, was the only girl his brain supplied him- and he couldn't help but shudder in complete disgust.

"That is something I do _not_ need to see." He rubbed his hands together a little, and finally offered, "Great party, though. If you throw another one, I may just go."

"We'll be holding you to that, then." Chouji nodded in a slow and deliberate fashion, as if he had just said something that was etched in stone and would undoubtedly come to pass. "Drive safe, okay?"

"Sure thing."

He didn't bother with telling them that he was walking back. It would be a bother to explain to them that he didn't even the apprentice license you needed to get before you were able to drive all alone legally. It was much easier to just let them believe whatever they wanted to believe.

By the front door, Kiba smiled over at Hinata and Neji as they walked down the driveway of the house and towards the car that was waiting to pick them up. They were already leaving with Hinata's father, just as they had come.

Hinata had asked him if he would have liked to come along with them, her father didn't mind going over to Tobirama's house to drop him off. But Kiba had just told her that he enjoyed late night walks and it really wasn't all that far from his home- there was no way he could end up in any kind of trouble in the few minutes it took to get back on foot.

Just as he crossed through the threshold of the house, he heard another Rock Lee emanated shout and all he could properly think was that he couldn't be happier to leave before that bastard got too drunk to even be discreet over their mutual hate.

~/~

"Walking? Why would he turn your offer down, Hiashi?"

Tobirama had been woken up by his cell phone ringing at 11:55 pm. Hiashi Hyuuga had informed him about the teenage party he had just picked up his daughter and nephew from- had they truly allowed them to go to such an uncouth place?- and then asked if Kiba had been allowed to stay over for later. Tobirama had let him know that, no, he had a 12:30 curfew. And then the other man had let him know that Kiba had chosen to walk instead of ride along with him.

 _"I'm not sure. Hinata told me that he had said he preferred to walk and breathe in the fresh air. I called you because, if you remember correctly, there have been reportings of random assaults at midnight and did not think you would appreciate your charge's decision making."_

 _His charge's_. Hiashi still could not believe the amount of time and care they spent on Kiba Inuzuka. Although he did respect the fact that they were helping him, even when his family refused to even see their shortcomings... Apparently, Hiashi had also faced the displeasure of meeting Tsume Inuzuka once before. And it was mostly because of that meeting that he had never enjoyed the idea of Kiba and Hinata working together on anything.

"No, I do not appreciate it. Has he already left the party?"

Tobirama knew that he had told Kiba had until twelve thirty to come back. But there was an uncomfortable feeling in his gut, as if his stomach was much too tight and his chest had an uneasy pressure building on it... Two signs of anxiety he had never cared for but always appreciated, for they usually helped him steer clear of dangerous situations.

 _"He was still within the house when I left. Although Hinata tells me that one of her friends tells her that he already left."_

Throwing the bed covers off of him, Tobirama put on his sandals, walked down the stairs of his home to reach his front door, and grabbed his car keys. "Thank you, Hiashi… I'll go make sure he gets home safe."

 _"Of course. I hope everything works out well. Goodbye, Tobirama."_

With a heavy sigh, Tobirama ended the call, walked out of his house, and locked it up. Then he hurried to his car and prepared himself for the undoubtedly difficult task of hunting Kiba down.

Just as he pulled out of his driveway, his phone vibrated. When he checked, it was to see that Hiashi had sent him a link to the location where the party had been hosted.

Good friends, he knew, always pulled through when you needed them the most.

~/~

The night was windy, so Kiba wound up zipping up his jacket as he walked down the deserted sidewalk that led him away from Karui's home. Faintly, as if mere whispers at this point, he could still hear the music from the party.

It hadn't been a bad night. But being alone wasn't all that bad either.

Exhaling heavily through his nose, the teenager brought his hands up so he could cross his arms over his chest as he walked.

Unlike all the other nights he had walked the streets at this hour, Kiba felt uneasy. It was like there was this little creature at the back of his head that couldn't _tell_ him why he felt uneasy, but let him _know_ that there was something off. And, honestly, it made no sense. Kiba had done this very same thing dozens of times before. He'd never been afraid before.

Suddenly, he remember that he could always just call Tobirama and tell him to pick him up.

As soon as the thought struck him, he knocked it away. He couldn't wake Tobirama up at this hour. The man deserved a good night's sleep that wasn't interrupted by him being paranoid. He didn't want to be the reason why Tobirama woke up suddenly in the middle of the night.

He took a couple of seconds to look all around him, noticing how the long row of houses was finally nearing its end and reaching a large gap where there was nothing but trees and bushes.

His legs stopped walking when he reached the beginning of the gap.

He didn't want to continue... There were street lights and the sidewalk was fine... But he just couldn't shake the feeling of _wrong_.

"Maybe he wouldn't mind me asking him to pick me up?" Kiba questioned himself, moving his right arm over to the pocket of his jeans so he could fish out his phone... But he snapped it back to his chest before it could get to the phone. "No! Fuck that- I can't bother him. 'Sides, it's just a bit of trees and shit... Can't nothing bad happen to me."

He tried to psyche himself up.

It didn't work.

~/~

Third time was _not_ the charm when it came to calling Kiba.

He wasn't picking up his phone.

Tobirama growled in frustration before he turned his phone back to the map screen so he could see how long he had until he reached the location of the party. '10 minutes left' it read.

This stretch of street was the very one where those assaults Hiashi had spoken about had taken place. Because there were just trees to either side of this street, the unknown attacker would lay in wait until someone came walking down the street to jump at them and steal everything they had on him.

This was also the only way Kiba could have gone down if he wanted to reach Tobirama's house... Unless, of course, he chose to take a shortcut down the mountain.

The man forced himself to take in a large and calming breath- even though his hands didn't loosen from the steering wheel at all.

Why was he not answering his phone?

"Dammit, Kiba!"

His heart was pounding uncomfortably, so loud to his ears that it felt as if the heartbeats were coming from the speakers of his car. Aside from that, he could hear his air conditioning running and his own breath. There was nothing else aside from that, for he had not bothered with turning on the radio.

Just as he was about to reach out for his phone and call Kiba a fourth time, Tobirama saw a dark figure on the side of the road. From far, it looked human. Male, presumably... The closer he got, the clearer the image became.

For a moment, Tobirama allowed himself to breathe out in relief.

Then he saw red.

~/~

Kiba looked away from the blaring lights of this new car until it had passed and he could see comfortably again.

The lights never left.

He felt his throat seize immediate. What was this car doing here? Why was it stopping? Oh shit, was he going to di-

"Kiba Inuzuka! Get your ass into my car right now!"

Blinking in surprise, Kiba dared look over his hand and towards the bright lights of the car. On the driver's side of it, he could see, from behind the open door, the pale face of a pretty angered Tobirama Senju.

"Tobirama? What are you doing here?"

Like a good adult, Tobirama totally ignored his question. "In. Car. _Now_."

Having dealt with his mother his whole life, Kiba knew better than to stall any further. He scurried over to the passenger's side and opened the door, and just about threw himself inside before he shut the door.

He strapped himself in with the seat belt, but didn't even dare look at the man.

He had _never_ heard Tobirama shouting like that... Not even when he'd been absolutely _pissed off_ with him had the man used such a strong and (terrifyingly) scary voice.

Tobirama slammed his door shut and the car lurched forward to begin to take them to wherever Tobirama was taking them.

The silence was absolutely deafening.

Although, when Tobirama began to speak, Kiba began to miss the silence.

"Where's your cellphone?"

Tobirama sounded as if he was grinding his teeth as he spoke. Kiba didn't dare look at his face to confirm this. Although he did look at his hands and found that they were holding onto the steering wheel with a deathly tight grip. And, if the car wasn't lying, they were going at a reasonable couple of miles above the speed limit at the moment.

"My pocket."

"Let me see it."

Instinctively, Kiba wanted to tell him that there was no need for that. Why the hell did he need to show him his goddamn phone?! But he wasn't an idiot and he knew that Tobirama was never the kind to be questioning when he was in a good mood. So he moved his hands to his front pocket, where his phone was, so he could pull it out.

…

… …

… … … "Uh..."

"Where in the hell did you lose your phone?"

 _Shit_. Tobirama was swearing. He _never_ swore.

The teen began to frantically pat at his pockets to try and find it. But he only found his own legs.

 _Fuck_... "I think I lost it at Karui's house..."

They fell into a dead silence once again.

The car ride that was supposed to have taken some ten minutes lasted only seven minutes. Which was both great because less time in a confined space with a pissed off Tobirama, but also bad because how fast had the man been going to get here so fast?

When Tobirama parked in his driveway, Kiba was too terrified to move. He waited for the man to turn off the car before he even reached for his seatbelt.

He should have bolted as soon as they had reached the house.

~/~

Of all the stupid, irresponsible, _immature_ things this boy could have done!

Tobirama was seething and he had no qualms about letting Kiba know just how truly angry he was.

"You are grounded for the next _month_."

"What?!"

"You lost your phone and stayed out past your curfew!" Tobirama lashed out at the teenager, just about snarling with a glare placed firmly on his eyes and a sneer on his lips. "I was worried about you, boy! I called you after Hiashi told me you were stupid enough to try to _walk_ home at this godforsaken hour and you couldn't even answer me! How in the world did you even lose your phone?"

"I don't know!" Kiba was frazzled- good, he deserved to be after the near heart attack he had almost put Tobirama through. "Why am I getting grounded? I got here before curfew!"

Tobirama spared a glance at the clock on his dashboard and noticed the brightly shining '12:10'. But he did not lose any of his anger upon seeing that Kiba was twenty minutes early. "Alright. Then you're grounded for poor decision making." He frowned, turning the key in the ignition to shut the car off. "You cannot go out to another gathering until you have proven that you are responsible enough to deserve to go to another one."

He threw his door open and began to make his way to the front door, his heart still beating so rapidly it felt like it was about to burst out of his chest.

The last time he had felt like this... The last time he had been _this_ anxious... Someone near and dear to his heart had died.

He completely blamed Kiba Inuzuka being an idiot for how he was feeling at the moment.

"Hold up! It's just a phone! And, technically, I would have gotten here before curfew even if you hadn't come to fetch me!"

His hand was shaking as he tried to stick his key into the front door. His nerves were on high alert and Kiba daring to argue with him was certainly not helping him maintain any semblance of control.

 _"You have to calm down, big brother. Or else you'll give yourself an aneurysm."_

Those had been his last words to him before he had died...

This night was just great, wasn't it?

Still, Tobirama did his best to gulp in a calming breath. He was able to finally get the key inside the lock and turned it, allowing both him and Kiba to step inside his home.

Kiba didn't follow immediately.

Tobirama glared at him through narrowed eyes as the teenager stood at the foot of the stairs that led to the door, glaring up just as defiantly.

Damned brat.

Couldn't he see that he was like this because he had been terrified of what could have happened to him out there?!

~/~

Kiba had never seen Tobirama like this.

Quite frankly, he didn't even want to _know_ that the man could ever get like this.

"You're acting crazy, Tobirama." He huffed out, crossing his arms over his chest to glare at the man.

Tobirama was glaring back with even more intensity, clearly telling him to get inside his house before his thin patience ran out.

"I could have walked back just fine."

Tobirama's face suddenly became expressionless. He dropped the glare and adopted a stone-like look that didn't betray a single emotion.

Kiba suddenly began to wonder if Tobirama had somehow gotten ahold of some drugs that made people act insane. He'd never seen anyone act like this on the various drugs he'd seen people use... But everybody was different, right? Maybe Tobirama just reacted uniquely to-No! This was a stand-up man. He'd never take drugs. No. Never.

He wasn't like Hana.

"We will continue this in the morning, Inuzuka. Now come inside."

The man's voice was suddenly cold, somehow even more emotionless than his face.

As soon as he had said that, Tobirama ghosted away from the door, leaving Kiba standing confused and alone.

After hesitating for a couple of seconds, Kiba finally crept up to the house and closed the door behind him. He did not miss the lack of Tobirama's presence, but he _was_ grateful for it.

He locked up the door and headed into the guest bedroom he always used when he stayed over.

The next morning, he woke up to find a newspaper on the nightstand beside the bed.

After he'd read the front page article, he couldn't help but feel _really_ remorseful.

~/~

"Yeah, Hiashi… I found him before anything bad could happen..." Tobirama informed his friend with a heavy sigh, left hand clutching at his hair while his right kept his phone to his ear. "If I hadn't gotten there..."

 _"Don't think about that. He's safe and sound. Hopefully, the police will be able to catch this criminal now that he's gotten sloppy."_

"I wouldn't call this sloppy, Hiashi… I'd call it attempted murder."

At one in the morning, a couple had been taking their dog for a walk- who walked their dog at this hour?- and had been attacked in the very place Tobirama had picked Kiba up from. The woman had been able to get away, just like the dog... But the man was found about an hour after she had phoned the attack deep inside the foliage. He was unconscious and was currently in the hospital, fighting for his life.

 _That could have been Kiba._

It hadn't been. But it could have been.

He knew he had overreacted last night. But he hadn't been able to stop himself from expecting the worst... And then when he had found out Kiba had been irresponsible enough to walk back home without even a _phone_ in case he needed help... He'd lost it.

He heard the guest room's door opening and, a couple of seconds later, he found Kiba standing at the entrance into the kitchen. His eyes were locked on the newspaper Tobirama had left in his room.

"Kiba's up. I'll talk to you later, Hiashi."

 _"Keep your cool, Tobirama."_

The line shut off and the red eyed man could not help but huff out in slight irritation.

It was one of the few flaws he truly hated about himself, but it was difficult to manage. Even after living with said flaw for almost fifty years. He was almost always to keep his cool... But when he lost it, it was nearly impossible to get him to think straight.

He'd only ever lost control in this manner when it dealt with those near and dear to him...

It seemed Kiba truly was someone he loved.

"I..."

Tobirama stood up and walked over to the teenager. Kiba didn't look at him until he was directly in front of him.

"That could have been you."

It hurt Tobirama to even acknowledge that; he would much rather just be angry and not worry over what could have happened if he hadn't found Kiba when he had.

Kiba's eyes widened and (much to Tobirama's relief) filled with what seemed to him like guilt.

"I... I'm sorry, Tobirama."

Kiba let the newspaper drop and hugged him tightly, catching Tobirama off guard for a second. But soon enough, the man wrapped his own arms around the teenager and returned the hug.

The kid was an idiot. But at least he was safe.

..~..~..

Please review!


	9. Chapter 9

Warning(s): Nothing too bad, really. Mentions of marijuana, but Kiba's being a good kid. Oh, and a new temporary pairing that won't last: Kiba/Hidan.

* * *

Hashirama was judging him. _Again_.

"What is it this time, brother?" Tobirama sighed as he stirred his cup of coffee.

Tsunade was off in the corner of Hashirama's house, struggling to put on her winter boots without anyone's help. She was making a point of being old enough to do things on her own- so she was old enough to go out to a candy store a few blocks away to buy candy for herself. Tobirama and Hashirama allowed her to struggle to prove their own point- no, she was not.

"Kiba tells me you've grounded him."

The white haired male sighed, "That I did. Is there an issue with it?"

When he chanced a look at Hashirama, Tobirama found his older brother with his lips pursed. "He told me it was supposed to be for a month. Yet the month has passed and you haven't lifted the punishment yet."

Tsunade groaned and spit out mumbled made-up, kid friendly curses at her boots. Tobirama allowed it because fake-swearing was the closest they would get to keeping their household PG with the likes of Kiba and Hidan running around.

He didn't like Hidan. There was something _very off_ about that young man.

"I've extended it. He pulled a rather big mistake on the night of the party- but he's won himself an extension because of his grades and that last altercation with Rock Lee." He explained calmly enough before he took a sip of his coffee, leaving Hashirama to frown at him.

The Inuzuka's grades had begun to slip, even though Tobirama knew for a fact that his training schedule permitted the teenager more than enough time to complete his studies. And Hiashi informed him of a confrontation between Rock Lee and Kiba in which Kiba had been the instigating party until Neji had pulled Lee away from the classroom and Hinata tried to calm Kiba down.

Tobirama knew there was more to that story. Kiba was never the kind to start a fight. But the teenager refused to speak to him. And, seeing how Hiashi's version of the story was the only one Tobirama had, he felt it was justified to extend the punishment.

"You're being too hard on the kid."

Tsunade cheered, then groaned loudly. Tobirama turned to look at her and found that she had managed to put on one boot, but had reversed the foot it was supposed to go on. So the blonde threw herself at the floor with a defeated huff.

At least she understood she wasn't old enough to go anywhere by herself now.

"You're being too kind with him."

Hashirama sighed heavily and stood up, making his way towards Tsunade to help her out. "Christmas break is nearing and it'll be really unfair if he isn't allowed to have fun with his friends. Friends that we've already approved of, Tobirama. None of them are bad kids."

 _Except Hidan_.

The lawyer shook his head and finished draining his cup of dark coffee. Then he stood up and began to wash it. "I'll talk with him. If he seems to finally understand the severity of his actions, I'll lift the punishment."

It wasn't a promise of the like Hashirama wanted. But it was the closest his brother would get. And they both knew it.

Hashirama helped his granddaughter put on the winter boots while chuckling at her pout, all the while telling her that there was no problem with being a kid and to stop trying to grow up so fast.

Tobirama couldn't help but sigh softly as he thought about Kiba... He wished _both_ kids would stop growing. He didn't know how much more of this he could take.

~/~

"Man! You're still grounded?"

Kiba didn't know why _Naruto_ , of all people, was upset over his punishment. "Yeah. Tobirama hasn't said anything about _not_ being grounded and I'm not taking any chances. He's already pissed off enough with me."

Hinata huffed, "But it's already been more than a month."

"Yup."

He hefted his backpack higher up on his shoulders, then shrugged and continued to make his way down the halls of their school. Hinata, Naruto, and Shino all followed after him as they made their way towards their next class.

The recent 'C' he had gotten in his science class was weighing on his mind. He didn't have much energy to think about his friends and their own worries, seeing how he was currently wondering how he was going to explain that grade to the Senju brothers. He knew that Hashirama wouldn't mind it because he understood science sucked. But he also knew that Tobirama would hit him with that disappointed scowl of his... And Kiba didn't think he'd ever see the end of the punishment.

"How're we supposed to party and go to the beach and have fun if you're always grounded, Kiba?" Naruto groaned, earning a disgruntled growl from Rock Lee when the blonde pushed him to the side of the hallway so he could squeeze through the rest of the student body.

Kiba didn't understand why life hated him. But Rock Lee always appeared at the worst times and pushed him _too far_.

But not today. Today, Kiba wouldn't bite. If Rock Lee screamed out at Naruto, then it would be Naruto's shit to deal with. Nope, he would not even look back at Lee-

"Watch where you're going! All of you are such idiots! Didn't your parents ever teach you any manners?!"

No. He was not going to rise to the bait that always got to him. Family may have been a touchy subject, but he was not about to get into trouble again because Rock Lee was so good at getting under his skin.

"Why don't you watch where you're standing? Get outta the middle of the hallway if you don't wanna get hit- dumbass!" Naruto yelled back, pushing on Kiba and Hinata's backs to get them to move away faster. "That guy's such a jerk."

Naruto wasn't helping the situation. But at least they were able to get away without Rock Lee and him coming to an actual confrontation.

They finally dropped the topic of his punishment and began to talk about going to Hinata's house to complete their end of semester English project. Kiba took their distraction and pulled out his phone from his pocket to check if there were any messages.

There were three: one from Tobirama, another from Hashirama, and the earliest one was from Hidan.

 _"We'll have to meet to talk." ~ Tobirama_

Kiba frowned at this, sighed, and flipped to Hashirama's message.

 _"I convinced Tobirama to talk to you. No idea what he'll do, but... Yknow how he is."_

Ah, now _that_ made sense.

Finally, he turned to Hidan's message and read it through. _"You free next Saturday? I wanna lunch!"_

The teenager sighed at this, and quickly replied, _"Don't know. I'll tell you later."_

Who knew? Maybe Tobirama would finally free him from this punishment.

~/~

When Kiba made it to his office, Tobirama was not prepared to meet with him. He found himself speaking with the plaintiff of a case he had thought closed months ago.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Sarutobi, but my hands are tied. You can bring a case against your lawyer for misconduct and negligence, but that would take time. Until then, my client's have asked me to offer as little as possible for your daughter's injuries. I am sorry, but all you have been offered to this date is all I am allowed to offer." Tobirama explained to the woman, who glared back at him with pure spite. "I am going against my own code of ethics to tell you this, I must add. And we really should end this meeting as soon as possible."

"You're nothing more than a heartless bastard."

Kiba opened the door into his office and managed to hear the insult spewed at him.

Tobirama frowned when he noticed how tightly Kiba was gripping the doorknob.

"I am sorry you feel that way. But I have another meeting I really must get to. If you'd please," Tobirama stood up and motioned towards the door, silently telling the woman she had to leave.

The woman glared, picked up her purse, and left in a huff.

Tobirama closed his eyes and inhaled deeply to calm down before he spoke with Kiba. He opened them when he heard the door close and found Kiba frowning over at him.

"You've really got a tough job."

"I am aware." The man offered, then motioned for Kiba to sit down where Kurenai had previously been sat. "We're not here to talk about me, though. We're here about you."

Kiba frowned and sat down, all the while Tobirama sat back down on his chair. "What's the grade you got on your latest Biology test?"

Somehow, the teenager's frown managed to deepen even further. He didn't say anything.

Tobirama quirked an eyebrow, "We've got to talk about it."

"Well I don't want to because you're just gonna get angry with me." The Inuzuka crossed his arms over his chest and huffed out a petulant, "Fine! I got a C."

Tobirama scowled.

Kiba had the decency to shrink in his chair.

"I don't get the class! Science is stupid... But, I did get an A on that English test I had!"

~/~

Tobirama condemned him to having to find a science tutor for the next semester. He wouldn't allow him to continue getting weak grades if it was an issue they were able to solve with Kiba just trying a bit more. This semester was basically lost with the certifiable B or C he would get, but he was expected to get an A the next semester.

Luckily enough, though, Kiba was freed from his punishment. Finally! He was free to do stuff!

So he sent a quick message to Hidan about how, yes, he would be able to meet up for lunch next week as he waited in Tobirama's office for the man to finish up with his work so they could head back to the man's house.

 _"Fuckin A! Haven't cn u in 4ever."_

Hidan's texting was purposefully cringe-worthy and Kiba hated. The man wrote to him like this to get under his skin. And he was very much successful in this endeavor.

 _"You write like a teenage girl and it's seriously depressing."_ Kiba quickly wrote back before he pocketed his phone and began to bounce on the balls of his feet.

He was waiting by the doorway of Tobirama's office, eager to finally be able to leave after receiving the good news that he was finally free from his punishment. The man was finishing up with some kind of draft of something or another and was typing away at his keyboard with as much energy now as when he had begun to work after they had finished their little talk over an hour ago.

Kiba knew that it would be a while before Tobirama finished, so he had stood up to stretch his legs and walk a little bit.

The teenager took the fact that Hidan had been informed and he had nothing more to do than wait to be able to look at Tobirama... and, well... Just _look_.

The youngest of the Senju brothers was a very handsome man. Like the kind of man that could have had a career in modeling in his younger years if he had willed it. And he had a very rigid and responsible physical routine to take care of himself- to be able to live as long as he could to care for Tsunade and his older brother.

Sometimes, Kiba _did_ allow himself to wonder just _how_ , exactly, Tobirama looked without a shirt. But he quickly dashed those thoughts away because, well, Tobirama was like an actually good father figure. Those were not the kinds of thoughts he needed to have hanging around in his mind.

His phone vibrated and Kiba fished out his phone to find that Hidan had answered him again.

 _"Ur stuck wth me, btch. TTYL. Retards tlking 2 me."_

Oh... Right. Hidan had his own group of college friends he spoke ill of a lot. The 'Retard', if he was remembering correctly, was a guy they called Tobi. And Hidan had particularly energetic hate for this specific man, even though Kiba couldn't understand why.

 _"See you later, Hidan."_

He finished typing on his screen and chanced a glance over at Tobirama... And couldn't help but feel his heart begin to hammer just a bit harder in his chest.

The man was worrying his bottom lip between his teeth as he glared with nothing short of intensity at his computer screen. He looked so concentrated... _So passionate_...

Kiba breathed in sharply, cursed Tobi for taking Hidan's attention away from his phone, and scrolled through his contacts to try and find someone he would be able to bother so he could distract himself for a while.

~/~

Tobirama didn't like it when Kiba hung out with Hidan. But Hashirama had accepted the young man as a worthy friend and Kiba really did enjoy spending time with him. Tobirama didn't have enough evidence to justify his dislike of the man, so he didn't have any logical arguments against having the man around.

Dropping Kiba off at the college student's apartment was one of the most uncomfortable things he had ever done.

"This is your first shot at showing me you've matured. Do _not_ disappoint me." Tobirama growled as he drove down the highway, all the while Kiba's peaceful music played through his car's speakers.

This was yet another surprising quality- Kiba was a fan of all kinds of music. He liked the stereotypical angry and loud music teenagers were infamous for. But he also enjoyed some pop songs that were appropriate for Tsunade's age. And he also had a whole playlist of calm music with calm guitar riffs and soft vocals and instruments that Tobirama actually enjoyed.

"No weed. No alcohol. No nonsense; I promise. I'm not about to risk getting in trouble when I've just gotten my freedom." Kiba promised with an eager smile on his lips.

Tobirama sighed and continued to keep his gaze on the road before him. It was still early in the day, not even the afternoon, but Hidan had insisted on having lunch at his apartment. Seeing how his apartment was close to Hashirama's university and on the other side of town, Tobirama wasn't about to let Kiba even _think_ of walking all the way there.

Caring for someone was sometimes so not worth the energy... But Kiba mattered.

"These are college students, Kiba. I have a right to worry for your wellbeing."

He sighed softly and drummed his fingers against the dashboard. "I get that I'm still in high school so you've got that right. But I've known Hidan for forever. You shouldn't worry about me."

He could, so he would.

Tobirama turned onto the stretch of highway that took him on the fastest route to the university, then turned into the area filled with students off-campus residences. "College students are idiots. I'd bet they're even dumber than high school students. The only reason I'm allowing you to come here is for the simple fact that Hashirama refused to listen to reason and actually allowed this."

Kiba chuckled softly at this and looked on his phone to begin to direct him towards the apartment that housed Hidan and his roommates. "Well I guess I should thank Hashirama a bit more when he picks me up."

"Hn."

Eventually Tobirama found his car stopped in front of a large red building with Hidan waiting in front of it. The young man smiled broadly when he saw the car pulling up and neared the edge of the sidewalk. Kiba turned to Tobirama and smiled at him, thanking him one final time before he jumped out of the car and was scooped up in a large hug by Hidan.

Tobirama watched the interaction with a dark cloud beginning to form over him.

Hidan liked Kiba. And either Kiba was completely oblivious to this, or he reciprocated.

For some reason, that bothered Tobirama a lot more than it should have.

~/~

When he walked into Hidan's apartment, it was to find out that it was much bigger than he would have ever expected the man being able to afford. Almost immediately, though, he found out why it was that he was able to live there.

"These're Obito, Deidara, Sasori, Nagato, Yahiko, and I'm Konan." The only woman in the place introduced herself and her roommates as soon as he had crossed through the threshold, barely giving him any time to actually register what was being said.

"We've got two other grumpy roommates, but they're out right now." Hidan's large hands clasped onto his shoulders and pushed him into the extremely spacious apartment, leading him towards the huge couch on which a redheaded person and a dark haired man were sitting.

He wasn't sure if the red head was a very girly man or a boyish woman. So he would do his best to steer clear of conversation with them just to be on the safe side.

"Kisame's out getting the final thing we need for lunch. And Itachi's working or whatever- he doesn't matter."

This was a rather big apartment with quite a bit of rooms. But he was sure that eight roommates was more than enough for people to want to kill each other.

Hidan pushed Kiba onto the couch and handed him a control so they could play a fighting game. Kiba quirked an eyebrow at this, only receiving a smirk from Hidan as an answer.

"You haven't played this game before and I need to be able to kick your butt at least once before you figure out how to properly play."

"Now that isn't very fair, now is it? Hn?" The blonde with the bangs that covered half their face called out in a decidedly male voice, making Kiba wonder just what kind of people Hidan hung out with now. He had never been the kind that was open to differences before. But this was a very odd looking group of people.

"Not at all, Deidara!" The dark haired man sitting on the couch chuckled as he struggled to not cough and- oh, he smelled like weed. Okay. This must have been Tobi- Obito. "Hidan, you're so mean to the kid!"

"Shaddup, fucktard!" Hidan waved him off and picked his character- Goku.

Ah, a Dragon Ball Z fighting game. It had been _forever_ since Kiba had last played one of these.

"Alright. Let's see just how much this series has changed." He scoured through the roster until he found the only character he had actually _loved_ from the series he had watched as a kid and promptly heard a round of laughter from the very baked Tobi.

"Hey! I like Yamcha."

"He sucks!"

"He's a kid. Let him be stupid."

"That guy's an idiot. But at least he's got that one attack that's not half bad."

And so the adults around him that weren't as mature as Kiba had thought adults would be began to discuss the pros and cons to picking Yamcha over his head, all the while he and Hidan engaged in a fight.

After hours of learning how to play and finally figuring out the game, Kiba was able to beat Hidan. They were able to eat a lunch that had been cooked by Konan and Hidan- and what had happened to his old best friend to have changed _so much_?. And, right now, Kiba found himself in the hallway of the apartment complex as he sent Hashirama a pin on how to get to the apartment so he could be picked up before the ten o'clock curfew Tobirama had set for him.

Hidan's friends were all interesting. But they were also loud and college aged. Kiba liked them, but it was also nice to spend some time alone with Hidan. Besides, he had promised Tobirama no trouble making and Tobi refused to _not_ smoke inside the building. Even though he wasn't going to take part in anything that would get him in trouble, Kiba didn't want to even _smell_ the substance. So he had decided to take the time Tobi smoked to text Hashirama.

"I could just drive you back."

Hidan was leaning back against a wall, right to Kiba's left, and the teenager smiled at him. "I know, but these people actually... I dunno… _Care_."

"Seriously?" His friend murmured, then huffed out, "Weird."

"I know, right?" Kiba looked over at his friend, only to find Hidan looking back at him through narrowed, somewhat worried eyes. Kiba cocked his head to the side in confusion at the look, "Is everything alright, Hidan?"

"Yeah... Fuck... Just..." Hidan looked away and forced his hands into the pockets of his jacket, then scowled. "Yeah. Everythin's fuckin' fine."

"You sure?" Kiba questioned, then glanced down at his phone when it vibrated in his hand.

 _"Got it! Tsunade and Ill be over to pick you up in half an-"_

Kiba wasn't able to finish reading the message.

Hidan grabbed his chin and pressed their lips together before he was able to finish reading.

..~..~..

Please review and tell me what you thought about this chapter! And don't hate me. Remember, Tobirama/Kiba is the endgame. But there's gotta some more drama before that happens!


	10. Chapter 10

Warning(s): Hidan's mouth, teenage angst, and Tobirama angst.

* * *

Kiba had never imagined his first kiss. He wasn't some love-sick sissy and he had not contemplated anything with romance and him ever... In his whole life.

… Okay, maybe when he had been a dumb kid, he'd imagined himself smooching the heroines of his favorite cartoons. But he had also imagined himself working side-by-side with Batman at that very age- so, no, he didn't really count those delusions as any actual thoughts he should take seriously. Those were just insane and unachievable dreams he had toyed around with before he had found out how harsh reality could be.

Because he'd never thought about his first kiss, he'd never contemplated with who it would happen... Nor where or when, actually.

Besides, he'd always stuck to himself. Friends were good to have around and he had _just_ gotten accustomed to the idea of being able to rely on others rather than just stay by himself at all times. Romance had not been something he had thought about _at all_ before... It was one of those things that he knew happened to others but had not actually thought would ever happen to him.

But a kiss on the lips was supposed to be romantic, right? That's what all the movies and books and everything and everyone said. He wasn't going crazy now?

… Had kissing on the lips suddenly become something that was socially acceptable for friends to do? Was _that_ the reason why Hidan was moving his slightly chapped lips against Kiba's own? It must have been... Because this wasn't very romantic at all. Kiba's lips were just _there_. And he was mostly frozen- a stiff piece of human that had his chin held by Hidan's own warm fingers.

His brain had completely short-circuited.

One second, Hidan was kissing him.

The next his friend was a handful of feet away, spitting and cursing in quiet hisses, back hunched and turned to him.

For a second, Kiba blinked dumbly. Then he lifted his fingers to his lips, as if to make sure that the tingling sensation along his mouth was on his lips only on his lips and nowhere else... Which, in hindsight, was a pretty stupid thing to check out, wasn't it?

"Fuck. Ignore me. Forget that happened. _Fuck!_ Lord Jashin! Shit fucking-"

"Everything alright over there?"

His friend's curses cut off suddenly and Kiba couldn't help but chuckle at him.

Hidan turned around with unshed tears in his eyes and a heavy glare pulling at his whole face.

"Are you _laughing_ at me? Fucking hell! You're a sadist!"

Kiba shook his head and allowed his face to loosen so he wasn't smiling anymore. Then he shrugged his shoulders softly and glanced away from Hidan, "I'm not a sadist. I'm just wondering why you're reacting so violently to the fact that you kissed me."

Hidan stared at him with incredulity and fear so perfectly shown on his face that Kiba couldn't help but feel bad for the guy.

"I was wrong... You're _worse_ than a sadist!"

With a snort, Kiba shook his head and crossed his arms over his chest. "Hidan, I have _one_ question for you. Please don't answer it with anymore cursing or 'Lord Jashin this' or 'Lord Jashin that'. Got it?"

Hidan frowned at him, straightened himself, and made a point of keeping his back turned on Kiba. The Inuzuka rolled his eyes at the theatrics, but patiently waited until Hidan had stiffly leaned his head forward in a sorry excuse for a nod before he continued.

Once he saw the jerking motion, he asked, "Does you kissing me have anything to do with you wanting to go out with me?"

He'd never thought about romance with _anyone_ before.

He Who Shall Not be Named did not count because he was not part of the equation and _never_ would be. Kiba was his junior by some three or four decades and no matter how much he would have loved to experience how _those_ lips would have felt on his and not just Hidan's- especially after seeing that lip bi-no. He wouldn't think about that. He just wouldn't.

Hidan sulked in that way that was so purely _Hidan_ that Kiba couldn't help but be amused by the grand show. Even though he was a fully fledged college student, he still acted as if they were still running around in the streets without any sort of parental supervision. The older male kicked his right foot against the tile, jammed both his hands into the pockets of his jeans, and hissed through his teeth.

Then, in a barely perceptible whisper, Kiba heard, " _Yes_."

Kiba was actually caught off guard by the honest pain in the answer.

It was as if Hidan thought he would get rejected...

He didn't like hearing his friend like this. And, even though he had never seen Hidan as a possible romantic partner... Well, it certainly wouldn't hurt to indulge the guy for a while, right?

"Alright, Hidan. It seems our relationship's just received an upgrade."

For the first time in his life, Kiba was willingly hugged by Hidan without having to be prompted with any sort of prize for said hug.

~/~

Eating dinner with business partners had always been a stuffy business. Too many Uchiha's were around the office and he didn't get along with many of them.

Eating dinner with other lawyers that were working with him on a case was always a delicate affair. Either he hated everyone in the table with him or he was forced to listen to salacious or downright _boring_ personal stories from people he had thought he could _respect_.

Uniting both of these experiences was always a bad idea. Especially if Madara Uchiha was the business partner he was working with on the case the rest of them were working on.

And having Kiba around to hear every single statement of outright _stupidity_ only made Tobirama want to leave as soon as the appetizer round had been eaten.

"Ah, youth! I remember being so young at one point, you know!" Anko Mitarashi smiled in a manner Tobirama did _not_ like at his charge before she took an endless gulp of her German beer.

"It's so weird to have a kid here..." Iwashi marveled for a moment, then shrugged, "But it's not the first time we see a teenage assistant, right? Remember that green haired girl? Y'know, the one that was with that lawyer that sued that Hospital up in New York and actually managed to win a case _no one_ wanted to touch."

The purple haired woman- such an uncouth color to dye it for this profession, but the young upstarts were all about defiance and _change_ , unfortunately- nodded at her young compatriot. Then she smiled at Kiba, "So's, kid, why do you want to be a lawyer?"

In his brand new three-piece suit and black and blue striped tie, Kiba looked rather decent. There were holes in his nose and ears from all of the damn piercings and those gaudy facial tattoos would not be removed until Kiba finally decided to head into a clinic to get them lasered off- so he didn't look _completely_ cleaned up. But this was the first time Tobirama had ever seen the kid looking even _remotely_ like a regular human being and he wore the look well.

Even with how decent he looked, the kid was uncomfortable with the attention on him.

Tobirama felt bad for him, but did not step in to distract the young lawyers before him. They had just finished spilling gossip on Sarutobi's firm and he wasn't in the best of moods because he had never been a fan of being part of any kind of rumor mill. If keeping their attention on Kiba meant they wouldn't start up with rumors, Tobirama would allow Kiba to hang for the moment.

"I... Uh... I don't want to be a lawyer." Kiba scratched at the back of his head and kept his gaze on his empty plate to not have to face the scrutinizing glares from the older idiots. "I just came here to help Tobirama out with taking notes and sh- _stuff_. I usually help his brother, but... Yeah."

Tobirama heard an annoyed scoff from Madara to his right, but he chose to ignore the small sound and instead continued looking over his menu- even though he already knew what he was going to order.

"What? You're not even interested in the business?" Iwashi gasped and Tobirama was able to see Kiba shake his head from the corners of his eyes.

"Is this madman paying you for your work?" Anko's voice rose uncomfortable, leaving Tobirama to wonder just where in the road of building a law abiding society they had gone wrong to create a generation of lawyers as skewed as her.

"Yeah." Kiba answered clearly- the first time his voice was sure and steady without a single trace of discomfort. "Where do you get off on calling 'im a madman, lady?"

Tobirama turned to fully look at Kiba now and found the teenager glaring at Anko with a fire of hatred he had not seen in the kid. His whole body was tense and he had even reverted to a rough way of speaking, rather than the- albeit crude- much more proper manner he had adopted to deal with Tobirama's fellow lawyers.

Once again, to his side, he heard Madara scoff.

"Kiba." Tobirama cut in, and, as if a switch had been flicked, Kiba lost all his fire and turned to look at him with a face so full of apology that the man couldn't help but feel endeared.

This kid really was something.

"Have you already decided on what you're going to eat?"

~/~

"Any lovers?"

This Anko lady was on her fifth beer and she didn't look as if she was ready to stop. Her face was redder than it had been when they had been in her stuffy office taking the deposition of her client and she didn't really look as if she should be given a sixth beer if she was going to drive.

But for all Kiba cared, she could keep on drinking and live through the consequences of drunk driving.

He didn't give a shit about being put under a microscope or getting insulted. But _no one_ got away with insulting _either_ of the Senju Brothers. They were the closest thing to angelic this world would ever deserve and no one had a right to ridicule them.

"You're a looker, kid. You've got to at least have _some_ admirers."

The Iwashi guy was a bit cooler in Kiba's books because he had not yet insulted either of the Senju Brothers. And because he was clearly just a follower to Anko's devious acts.

He didn't like either of them much, though.

Madara and Tobirama had left to pay the check and Kiba regretted not having pushed to have gone with them. Now he was stuck in a table with these two doofuses without a legitimate excuse to leave because he had already used up the bathroom excuse ten minutes ago when Anko had started ribbing on the age of the older lawyers.

"You can tell us- promise we won't tell either of the grump-umpuses over there." Anko jabbed her thumb behind her, in the direction said men had gone when they had gone to pay.

"Yeah. It'll be our little secret." Iwashi smiled broadly, leaning into the table for show.

With a sigh, Kiba decided that it wouldn't kill him to be honest.

"I've actually got a boyfriend."

"Ooh!"

"Huh, I would've thought he'd take after Tobirama rather than his brother..."

Kiba was confused by that statement, "What do you mean?"

But at that moment, Tobirama cleared his throat and Kiba's entire body froze.

 _Holy shit..._ How much had he heard?

"Thank you for the meal. I will be expecting those documents from your client in the following two weeks, Anko." The man spoke cordially, yet... _Frigidly_.

Anko's head wobbled as she nodded, "Y'got it, dude."

"Kiba. Let's go."

~/~

 _A boyfriend_.

Why hadn't he been told?

Kiba had a boyfriend and Tobirama had not been told. He had found out about such information because Anko Mitarashi and Iwashi Tatami were gossip hounds that didn't understand that there should be some boundaries between them and _teenagers_.

As if having to deal with Madara's judgmental commentary as they had waited to pay hadn't been enough to ruin his day... Now _this_ had happened.

When they returned to his car, he could tell that Kiba was unsure of how he should act. He was moving stiffly and keeping his gaze directly in front of him- he didn't even move to turn on the radio after Tobirama had begun to drive.

 _A boyfriend_.

Momentarily, his grip on the wheel tightened.

Then he forced himself to breathe out and relax.

"No music today?"

Kiba jumped and stared at him as if he had grown two heads upon hearing this. But then he nodded and began to rummage around his pockets for his phone and connected a simple acoustic playlist.

Tobirama drove down the streets, back to his home, and forced himself to relax even further with the soothing vocals and smooth melodies.

When they were halfway to their destination, he decided he was calmed down enough to not say anything too stupid.

"I..." He began, but frowned and shut up.

No. He couldn't make this about himself. It had to be about Kiba.

"So... This boyfriend... Is it someone I know?"

"You heard that?" Kiba gasped and Tobirama would be lying if he wasn't hurt by that.

Kiba _hadn't_ wanted him to know.

 _Why?_

The man cleared his throat and forced a loose smile onto his lips as he chanced a look at Kiba. "Was I _not_ supposed to have heard it?"

Like a deer in headlights- that's what Kiba looked like.

 _Why?_

"N-no- I mean yes! I mean..." Kiba sighed, "I don't know..." He then began to thrum his fingers against the passenger's door. "It's just... It was really sudden, okay? And we just got together and I don't even know what I'm doing and I don't think _he_ does either... And, yeah, you know him."

"Hm?" He hummed curiously, trying to keep the conversation alive.

He couldn't believe Kiba hadn't told him this.

Maybe it was Naruto or Shino. It clearly was not Hinata because, last he had checked, Hinata was a female and was considered by herself and everyone around her as such. But... Kiba despised Naruto more than liked and only hung around him because Hinata liked him. And Shino was a good enough person to the teenager, but he wasn't the Aburame's biggest fan.

Maybe Neji, then...

"It's Hidan. You took me to his house a couple weeks ago."

His grip on the wheel tightened involuntarily and his jaw clenched uncomfortably.

 _Hidan_.

~/~

During the whole car ride, Tobirama seemed even less talkative than usual. And when they got back to his house, he didn't even make sure that Kiba reached Hashirama's house safely like he usually did. Instead, he stalked into his house as soon as he had gotten out of the car... As if he couldn't get rid of Kiba any faster...

He wasn't going to lie- that hurt.

With a heavy sigh, Kiba shouldered his laptop bag and knocked on Hashirama's door. After a couple of seconds of waiting, the man opened it up with a large smile on his face and ushered Kiba into the warm, delicious smelling house.

"It's great you're here, Kiba! We just finished the first batch of these cream cheese cookies! And, even though they aren't the prettiest, they're _amazing_!"

"I helped! Here, taste this!"

Tsunade was clawing at his legs in no time, offering him what seemed to be the remains of a cookie shaped like a fat-blob of a person.

The teenager forced a smile onto his lips and did his best to copy Tsunade's energy as he scooped her into his arms and gobbled up the offered cookie.

After that, the afternoon was spent finishing up the rest of the Christmas cookies, cleaning up all of the messes Hashirama and Tsuande created, and watching yet _another_ Christmas movie. Once Tsunade had conked out on the sofa, Kiba breathed a sigh of relief, leaned his head against the back of the couch, and closed his eyes.

"What's troubling you, kid?"

Hashirama was still munching on some cookies, so his words were somewhat muffled. And Kiba smiled softly at this.

Hashirama Senju was _so different_ from his brother. Yet they got along _so well_.

… His smile turned bittersweet when his thoughts turned to his relationship with his sister.

Shifting in his seat, Kiba opened his eyes and found the television starting up on another movie. And he decided that _one_ heavy theme was enough for a single day.

"I don't think Tobirama likes me anymore..."

~/~

Out of all of the options available to him, Kiba had chosen _Hidan_.

The foul mouthed, ill tempered, lie loving university student that had, at one point, been a part of Kiba's slew of problems.

Well, Hana herself had quite the partner... And their mother was a single mother... Maybe the Inuzuka family was genetically predisposed to choosing horrible romantic partners?

This matter bothered Tobirama a lot. And he had a right to be worried- he and Hashirama had worked hard to get Kiba to where he was. Hidan's influence could possibly jeopardize everything they had been working to achieve for the past years! Kiba himself had admitted that Hidan had been part of his group of ruffians in the past... What was to stop him from destroying everything they had worked towards?

Tobirama _knew_ that he could have been wrong about Hidan.

But if there was one thing that he was very certain about, it was that he didn't hate Kiba. Hell, he would most probably _never_ be able to do such a thing.

So... why was Hashirama scolding him over this?

"He thinks you hate him, brother! And all because of Hidan, yet again!"

Hashirama paced from one corner of the kitchen to the other, all the while Tobirama sipped at his dark coffee with a mild glare on his features.

Not even six in the morning, with Tsunade and Kiba still asleep, and Hashirama had muscled his way into Tobirama's home to force him into this stupid conversation. Which, like with many conversations dealing with older brothers and serious topics, was more like a long-winded monologue from one person rather than an exchange of ideas between two.

"And you know that I don't trust Hidan because-"

"Of course I know. We have been over this so many times that I'm getting dizzy." Hashirama hissed as he suddenly stopped in front of Tobirama to make his words more dramatic. Then he turned away and began to walk yet again, "Straight A's in his whole college career, Tobirama. He is a stellar student and is currently in the Honor Roll."

Tobirama frowned, "Grades can be bought."

His brother growled, seeing how _that_ was a sore subject for him and his deep respect for academic integrity. "You have never given Hidan the _chance_ to prove you wrong. And now Kiba thinks you hate him when, in reality, you, for no reason, hate his _boyfriend_."

"I have reasons."

"Which are all in the past!"

It was too early for this.

Tobirama drained his coffee and stood up to serve himself a second serving.

"Kiba and Hidan are together now, Tobirama. Like it or not, Hidan is someone important in his life. And you are _very_ much aware that when it comes to a romantic relationship or a familial one, the romantic relationship always seems more important to sustain."

Momentarily, he was so stunned by his brother's words that his hand stopped mid-air, hanging suspended on its way to the coffee maker. Then Tobirama huffed and turned a heavy scowl on his brother.

"Who's dredging up the past now?"

Even though Hashirama's face was strict, Tobirama could see the pain shining in his eyes.

And that hurt.

"I'm just saying..." Hashirama sighed, raised his hand to pass it over his face, and offered, "How about you get to meet him? We'll invite Hidan over for Christmas or something. That way you'll be able to get to actually _meet_ him."

"I met him-"

"The picnic does not count because you were working most of the time."

Tobirama glowered.

Hashirama crossed his arms.

Unfortunately for him, there were some things that never changed about them. And Tobirama giving in to his older brother's whims when he could see that his brother actually _believed in them_ was just something that had happened since they were children. And it seemed to be a habit he would not be breaking any time soon.

"If he does not impress me, you cannot force me to act as if I approve."

"We will cross that bridge- _if_ we ever get there- when we get there."

..~..~..

Please review!

Also, I've got a new poll up on my profile! If you're even marginally interested in me writing My Hero Academia fanfiction, check it out!


End file.
